S'pore police officer, 35, charged for forging police statements & docs in cases he investigated between 2021 & 2023

A Singapore police officer was charged in State Courts on May 21 for allegedly forging police statements and documents related to cases that he had investigated in the course of his duties between 2021 and 2023.

S Vikneshvaran s/o Subramaniam, 35, has since been interdicted from duty, a police news release on Wednesday said.

Work performance issues uncovered

The accused was first placed under enhanced supervision in October 2022 due to his work performance, the statement said.

A supervisory check of his work was conducted in January 2023 and irregularities pertaining to case exhibits and document management were detected.

Review conducted

Upon the discovery of the irregularities, the Singapore Police Force immediately conducted a thorough review of all the cases investigated by Vikneshvaran.

It was discovered that Vikneshvaran had allegedly forged nine documents comprising seven police statements and two acknowledgement slips across seven cases.

These cases included five criminal cases, which were ongoing and two concluded cases, which did not result in prosecution.

What he allegedly forged

In the five then ongoing cases, Vikneshvaran allegedly interviewed the persons verbally, either in person or over the phone, and recorded these as police statements and forged the signatures of the persons thereafter.

Remedial actions were subsequently taken, which included properly recording the necessary statements by newly assigned investigation officers.

The Attorney-General's Chambers reassessed these cases after the remedial investigations were conducted and determined that there was no miscarriage of justice.

No other wrongdoings were uncovered.

Underperformance scrutinised

To ensure that the investigation process is fair and robust, the police force has a system of regular audits of cases, and supervisors are immediately alerted when any lapses are detected, the statement added.

Supervisors also pay closer attention to officers who show signs of underperformance.

If any irregularity is discovered, internal investigations are swiftly conducted, and documents relating to all the cases which the errant officers were investigating will be reviewed.

The statement added: "SPF takes a very serious view of law enforcement officers who contravene our laws and will take swift and decisive action to protect the integrity of our criminal justice system."

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

"The SPF deals with officers who break the law severely, including charging them in court."

Top photo via Singapore Police Force