Police officer forged statement of alleged victim of molestation, portraying her as willing party

SINGAPORE - A female police officer forged the statement of a woman who had reported that she was molested, and gave the impression that the alleged victim did not mind being touched.

As a result, the alleged victim was to have been warned for making a false police report.

But during investigations, it emerged that Senior Staff Sergeant Kalaivani Kalimuthu, 38, had forged the woman's statement because she could not meet the alleged victim and wanted to complete the investigation quickly.

On Thursday (Dec 27), Kalaivani, who has been interdicted from the Singapore Police Force since Sept 14 last year, was found guilty of committing forgery.

Kalaivani, who was an investigation officer at Ang Mo Kio Police Division between September 2011 and November 2016, will be sentenced on Jan 8.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Stephanie Chew told the court that the alleged victim had lodged a police report and provided a statement on March 27, 2016, saying she had been molested.

In April that year, Kalaivani was assigned to the case, which for investigation purposes was classified as outrage of modesty.

She was to have interviewed the woman but "encountered difficulty in arranging an interview".

Around Nov 13, she forged a statement in her office. This happened just before she was to have been moved from her role on Dec 1 that year.

In it, she stated that the woman had also touched the alleged molester during the incident, and did not mind being touched herself.

Kalaivani then signed on the document in the woman's name. She did this by tracing out her signature from the initial statement with a pencil, then writing over the imprint with a pen.

She forwarded the investigation papers to her officer-in-charge on Nov 25, 2016, recommending that no further action be taken in the case.

The case was later reassigned to Senior Investigation Officer (SIO) Pang Shijie.

In December, the investigation papers were sent to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), recommending that no further action be taken and that the alleged victim be warned for providing false information.

The following month, the AGC directed the police to record a further statement from the woman, and to investigate the details and extent of false information she had provided.

In June 2017, when SIO Pang interviewed the woman, she denied making the statement and also said she did not visit the police station.

SIO Pang checked and learnt there was no record of her visiting the station on the date Kalaivani purportedly recorded her statement.

SIO Pang lodged a police report on Aug 18 last year.

In a statement, police said SPF officers 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."

For committing forgery, Kalaivani could be jailed for up to four years and fined.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.