Bedok Police Division named Best Land Division

He molested a 19-year-old woman near Bedok Reservoir in August last year and got away with it.

Emboldened, he struck again in the same area two months later, creeping up on a 24-year-old victim at night.

He restrained the terrified woman, molested her and fled.

The molester probably thought he could escape again, but the Bedok Police Division hunted him down.

Last Wednesday, it was presented with this year's Best Land Division Award at the Annual Police Dinner at the Istana (see report on the next page).

The award was presented by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs.

The division commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Alvin Moh, 35, told The New Paper about the challenges they faced.

In both incidents, there were no eye-witnesses. The victims did not catch a clear glimpse of the culprit, only describing him as a tan-skinned man.

AC Moh, who has been leading the division since 2013, said: "What made the cases hard to solve was the fact that the police had no clear leads."

They launched a series of investigations, activating a total of 91 officers for analysis and ground operations.

Their big break came when descriptions of the perpetrator matched an image caught by a nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera.

BREAKTHROUGH

AC Moh said: "The breakthrough was when we discovered a blurred image of the culprit caught by a CCTV."

With that lead, the police officers combed the entire neighbourhood including worker dormitories.

They looked out for people of similar build and behavioural patterns.

In four days, the perpetrator was arrested. He was jailed three years and given six strokes of the cane for two cases of aggravated outrage of modesty.

AC Moh said he was proud that the team had managed to arrest the molester as the safety of the neighbourhood was compromised. He added: "We knew we had to get him."

This is the seventh time the Bedok Division has won the award. It last won in 2004.

AC Moh credited the award to the hard work of his officers and their families. He said: "I dedicate this award to the families of our officers who continue to support us as we go about our job to prevent, deter, and detect crime."

Cheats nabbed in 2 days

The Bedok Police Division took just two days to solve a case in which a 62-year-old woman lost her life savings of $10,000.

She was approached in January along Tampines Street 11 by a man who asked her to buy capacitors - a device used to store an electric charge. A second suspect joined in to convince her that the item was sold at a low price.

They promised her a genuine buyer would offer a high price, which would earn her a quick profit.

After transferring the money to the swindlers, she tried to contact them but they had disappeared.

She immediately made a police report and the division investigated the matter.

CCTV FOOTAGE

After two days, the team of police officers managed to identify the men based on closed-curcuit television camera footage.

A total of four men aged between 48 and 53, who had cheated the woman, were nabbed

Three of them were each sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment.

A fourth suspect, who had a share of the swindled money, was later identified and jailed four months.

ANNUAL POLICE DINNER AWARDS

During the Annual Police Dinner at the Istana last Wednesday, four awards were presented by Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security.

They were:

Best Land Division Award

Bedok Police Division

Best National Service Operationally Ready Unit Award

Ang Mo Kio Police Division

Best NSman of the Year Award:

- Superintendent (NS) Lok Weng Hoe from Central Police Division

- Deputy Superintendent (DSP) (NS) Derrick Goh Soon Hee from Bedok Police Division

- DSP (NS) Firdouse Sukor from Clementi Police Division

- Senior Staff Sergeant (NS) Tan Soo Koon from Police Coast Guard

- Staff Sergeant (NS) Mohammad Moiz Malik from the Training Command

Best NSF of the Year Award:

- National Service Inspector Muhammad Azhar Haj Mohamed from Central Police Division

- SC Sergeant (Sgt) Andrew Koh Wei Hao from Tanglin Police Division

- SC Sgt William Tin Wai Leung from the Public Transport Security Command

- SC Corporal (Cpl) Abdul Rahim Jasmen from Airport Police Division

- SC Cpl Toh Kian Keat from Ang Mo Kio Police Division

deweysim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 8, 2015.
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