A 36-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for stealing money from foreigners at Changi Airport while he was working as an Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Changi Airport's Terminal 4.

According to court documents, Muhammad Fadhil bin Mohamed Salleh stole at least S$650 from five victims. Three of the victims were foreigners who had been attempting to clear immigration at Terminal 4's departure hall.

Fadhil pleaded guilty to three charges of theft pertaining to these three victims, with a combined amount involving S$550.

Two other charges involving the remaining amount were taken into consideration during his sentencing.

In response to Mothership's queries, ICA said Fadhil has been suspended from duty since Oct.12, 2023.

Stole S$400 from a Thai woman while searching her bags

On Sep. 26, 2023, a Thai woman was flagged by the immigration system and prevented from leaving via the automated lane. She was then directed to a counter where Fadhil was seated.

He subsequently brought her to an interview room to process her thumbprint at the Biometric Database for Immigrant Clearance.

While in the room, he directed her to place her bags on the table and checked them, whereupon he discovered that one of the bags contained cash.

"Look back at the wall"

Fadhil then sat the woman down on a chair and directed her to look away from his direction towards the wall.

While she was staring at the wall, Fadhil continued to rummage through her belongings while speaking to her. Whenever she turned towards him, he would direct her to look back at the wall.

Investigations revealed that this did not conform to ICA's standard practice.

He eventually took cash amounting to S$400 from her bag while she was still facing the wall, rolled the money into his palm and slipped it into his pocket.

His actions were captured by the CCTV in the room.

Woman filed a complaint on ICA's website

The woman only discovered that her cash was missing after she was allowed to depart Singapore. She then filed a complaint on ICA's website.

A police report was lodged by Fadhil's colleague on Oct. 1, 2023, regarding this incident after the ICA conducted an initial investigation into her complaint.

Fadhil eventually admitted to taking the money from the woman's bag and said he had done so due to financial difficulties.

He also admitted to spending the stolen money on grocery shopping and as allowances for his wife.

Also stole at least S$100 from a Vietnamese woman while searching her bags

Fadhil also stole S$100 from a Vietnamese woman on Sep. 28, 2023 in a similar manner.

While searching through her bags in the interview room, he discovered a stack of S$100 notes in one of them.

Fadhil then directed the woman to open her suitcase so as to direct her attention elsewhere. While she was doing so, he took several notes from her bag and slipped them into his pocket.

This was also captured on CCTV.

Fadhil admitted to taking at least S$100 from her bag.

Stole S$50 from a Vanuatu citizen while counting his money

On Sep. 20, 2023, a 33-year-old citizen from Vanuatu was flagged by the immigration system while he was attempting to clear it.

Court documents did not mention why he was flagged.

The man was taken by Fadhil to an interview room where he was asked to place his backpack on the table and empty out its contents. The man complied and Fadhil began checking his contents.

This included counting his cash.

While doing so, Fadhil would count a portion of the cash before placing it on the table for the man to take away before continuing with the rest of the money.

While doing so, he tucked some notes in his hand and gave the rest of the cash back to the man, and allowed him to clear customs.

Fadhil's actions were captured by the closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the interview room. Fadhil subsequently admitted to stealing at least S$50 from the man.

Prosecution: Fadhil tarnished Singapore's reputation as a safe destination for travellers

A police report was lodged by Fadhil's colleague on Oct. 1, 2023, following a complaint made through ICA's feedback form on its website.

The colleague shared that ICA had conducted an initial investigation, which revealed Fadhil's identity and identified the complainant as the Thai passenger.

In their sentencing submissions, the prosecution called for a jail term of 13 to 15 months and said that Fadhil had deliberately taken advantage of the victims' trust in him as an ICA officer by intentionally diverting their attention through authoritative instructions.

They also highlighted how he intentionally gone after foreigners who were vulnerable, as they were unfamiliar with Singapore's law and processes, thereby tarnishing Singapore's reputation as a safe destination for travellers.

According to The Straits Times, Fadhil was sentenced to 14 months' jail.

He is scheduled to surrender himself to the State Courts on Sep. 9 to begin serving his sentence.

Meanwhile, ICA said appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken against him with a view to dismissing him from service following his conviction in court.

Top left photo by Mothership, right photo via Google Maps