A police officer in Singapore was found to have taken bribes amounting to S$32,500 from two gang members.

In exchange, he shielded them from police action on three occasions.

When his offences came to light, Poo Tze Chiang, 47, was reported to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and removed from frontline duties.

Poo was formerly from the Secret Societies Branch of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and held the post of station inspector.

Took 'red packet' to 'settle' fighting incident

According to a CPIB release, investigations showed that on or about Sep. 14, 2019, an altercation broke out at an Orchard Road club between members of two rival gangs.

One member, Wang Huate, was arrested.

A few days later, Wang's associate, Cordell Chan Yuen Kwang, who was also involved in the altercation, asked another person Ng Chuan Seng to help him and Wang evade police action.

Subsequently, Chan and Wang met Poo at Ng's KTV in Geylang.

Ng suggested that Chan and Wang could give Poo a “red packet” for his assistance in “settling” the fighting incident.

They complied and passed him a red packet containing S$2,000 in cash.

Took S$20,000, prevented police spot check

In February 2020, Wang was remanded by the police for further investigations.

When released, Wang contacted Chan and asked if he could get Poo’s assistance regarding the investigations. Poo told Chan that Wang would need to pay S$20,000 for this.

The three met on the night of Feb. 22, 2020 in a car park along Hillview Rise. There, Wang handed Poo a plastic bag with S$20,000 cash inside.

On Aug. 5, 2020, Poo told Chan that Wang would be detained by police if he reported for bail that day. Chan immediately relayed Poo's message to Wang, who decided not to report for bail to avoid that fate.

The trio met up again the same day at a void deck in Bukit Batok.

When police officers in the area approached them for a spot check, Poo flashed his warrant card and said he was an officer from the Secret Societies Branch.

He then lied that he was “conducting operations” to deter them from conducting the spot check.

This worked and the police officers left the area without checking Chan and Wang.

Tipped off wanted man so he could escape police

In August 2020, Chan discovered that the police were pursuing him.

He met Poo on Aug. 22, and asked him for assistance with police investigations against him. Poo asked for S$10,000 in exchange, which Chan negotiated down to S$7,000 and paid him in cash.

And upon Poo's request, Chan also loaned him S$3,500 from November 2019 to September 2020 for the same purpose.

Around Nov. 25, 2020, the two had a meal together.

Poo was driving Chan back to the car park in Bukit Batok where he had parked his car, when he saw an unmarked car belonging to a colleague from the Secret Societies Branch there.

Knowing Chan was a wanted man, Poo advised him to alight and head to a nearby coffeeshop instead.

Chan fled the area as a result.

Later, Poo later updated him that his colleagues were still around the car park, so Chan took a taxi home instead of returning to his car.

He avoid being detected and apprehended as a result of Poo's tip-off.

Caught after internal checks, interdicted from duty

The SPF told Mothership that Station Inspector Poo's offences were surfaced proactively through SPF's internal checks.

SPF then referred the case to CPIB and removed Poo from frontline duties.

Poo has been interdicted from duty since December 2020. SPF will commence internal action against him.

"Officers of the Singapore Police Force are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity.

We deal severely with officers who break the law, including charging them in court, or referring them to an appropriate authority for investigations."

Appealed against sentence

Poo was charged in court on Nov. 22, 2022.

He faced 10 charges in total: seven for corruption and three for obstruction of justice. For his offences, Poo was sentenced to 78 months' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of S$32,500 on Aug. 15.

Poo has appealed against the decision, and his appeal will be heard at a later date.

Poo was also charged on Jan. 26 for a separate case involving individual Chen Guangyun.

That case is still before the courts.

Top image from Canva