Police investigating reports of people who claim to be police officers seeking donations

SINGAPORE - The police is looking into reports of people seeking donations forcibly in public, it said on Thursday (April 6).

"In some cases, these subjects had also claimed to be Police officers," it said in a Facebook update.

"The Singapore Police Force would like to clarify that we do not seek donations."

Police added that anyone seeking donations must hold a valid licence issued by the Police or the National Council of Social Services (NCSS).

It advised members of the public to perform the following checks:

• Request for the Collector's Certificate of Authority (CCA) from the person who is soliciting for donations
• Check the list of fund-raising events approved by the Police and NCSS on https://www.police.gov.sg/licence/frameset_HH.html
• Check the charity portal's fund raising permit search engine at https://www.charities.gov.sg/Pages/Home.aspx

Members of the public can call the Police at 999 for immediate assistance if they suspect that a collection is illegal.

A police report can also be lodged online at www.police.gov.sg/epc/index.html or at any Neighbourhood Police Centre.

It is an offence to impersonate a police officer, police said. Anyone found guilty of impersonating a public servant can be jailed up to two years and/or fined.

A person convicted of soliciting donations without a valid licence can be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to two years.

chuimin@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Apr 06, 2017.
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