SINGAPORE, June 1 — An auxiliary police officer agreed not to take enforcement action against a peddler of sex enhancement drugs in Geylang in return for bribes totalling S$750 (RM2,612).

Yesterday (May 31), Thiru Murugan Shanmugam was sentenced to six months’ jail for his offences.

The 30-year-old Malaysian national pleaded guilty to a corruption charge, with another similar charge being taken into consideration for his sentencing.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of S$750, or be jailed for two additional days, for the gratification he had received.

The commencement of his sentence has been deferred to June 7 so he can clear personal and work matters.

What happened

According to court documents, Thiru was working as a Certis Cisco auxiliary police officer contracted by the Singapore Police Force to conduct patrols in areas where foreign workers congregate.

He was to conduct law enforcement against offences such as littering, and sales of contraband cigarettes, sex enhancement drugs and other illicit pills.

If such activity was detected, the officer was to detain the offenders, seize the illicit items and inform the police of the offences.

If the offender could not be detained, the items should be seized and taken to a designated police station, and be handed over to the police.

At the time of his offences, Thiru was working with security officer Mohammad Hafizudin Hanapiah and team leader Mohd Aris Jalil.

They were attached to Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre and responsible for patrolling the area around Geylang Lorong 17 to 25, 38 and 40.

Sometime around May 2022, Thiru approached and obtained gratification from sex enhancement drug peddlers whom he encountered during patrols.

In July 2022, he approached one Chen Dongliang, a peddler he had encountered in previous patrols in Geylang, in order to seek a bribe in return for not taking enforcement action.

Thiru would first seize the drugs from Chen, as per protocol.

But instead of handing them all over to the police, Thiru would retain a portion that he did not report.

He would then secretly approach Chen, offering some of the seized drugs to him if he paid him money, which was a few times higher than the actual price of the drugs.

Once this was agreed, Thiru would instruct Chen to drop the cash at a specified location through WhatsApp or Telegram, and he would collect it at a later time.

Similarly, he would then place the agreed amount of drugs to be placed at a specified location, such as under a traffic cone in an alleyway, for Chen to pick up.

On some occasions, Thiru would tip off Chen in advance of incoming raids so that he could prepare to escape and avoid detection from the patrol team.

Court documents said Chen had agreed to pay the money to benefit from the lack of law enforcement against him, and also in fear of repercussions if he were to refuse Thiru’s offer.

On August 29, 2022, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau received information relating to Thiru’s offences.

He was arrested on September 13 that year.

His two team members, Hafizudin and Aris, were sentenced to jail earlier this year for corruption and criminal breach of trust respectively.

‘Purely motivated by greed’

Today, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jonathan Tan sought a jail term of between seven and nine months, along with a penalty of S$750 to cover the gratification received.

DPP Tan said that Thiru had abused his position and breached the trust reposed in him by the police.

He added that his offences were premeditated and "purely motivated by greed”.

Referring to the charge that was taken into consideration for sentencing, DPP Tan said that Thiru had also involved his colleague, Hafizudin, in a conspiracy to receive gratification from another peddler sometime in May 2022.

DPP Tan said: "It is apparent that Thiru’s corrupt arrangements were not limited to targeting one specific peddler, but extended to other peddlers as well.”

In mitigation, defence counsel Yamuna Balakrishnan of Tembusu Law sought a lower five months’ jail sentence, arguing that the sum Thiru obtained was small, and that he had a "lapse of judgement” when committing the offences.

For the corruption offence, Thiru could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$100,000, or both. — TODAY