Late police officer's allegations of being ostracised and unfairly held back found to be untrue: Shanmugam

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said in Parliament today (Feb 6) that he was reluctant and had "no choice" but to address some of the allegations the late Sergeant Uvaraja Gopal made last year.

Shanmugam was delivering a ministerial statement on the death of the 35-year-old police officer who committed suicide on Jul 21, 2023. He was found lying motionless at the foot of an HDB block in Yishun. 

Uvaraja was then an officer with Ang Mo Kio Police Division and had been with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for over 10 years.

Prior to his death, Uvaraja wrote in a Facebook post that he had been bullied by his superiors and faced racial discrimination at work.  

Shanmugam asked the police to investigate the claims.

After the police had completed their internal investigations, their findings were reviewed by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).

AGC was satisfied by these findings and determined that no further actions were needed, Shanmugam said in Parliament today.

He addressed the allegations that Uvaraja had made, and said some of them are untrue.

Shanmugam said he addressed the matter with reluctance out of respect for Uvaraja's memory and consideration for his family.

"Uvaraja has made serious allegations, and it is in the public interests that the allegations are dealt with," he explained.

'We cannot tolerate racism'

In his Facebook post, the late officer claimed that he was bullied by his colleagues, and that racially-inappropriate language had been used against him.

Going into the details, Shanmugam said that internal investigations in 2015 found offensive language had indeed been used by the officers involved and that there was name-calling.

But these insults were "not specifically directed to Uvaraja", said the minister.  

"We cannot tolerate racism. Nor can we tolerate casual racism, snide remarks, jokes which are racist," he said.

Shanmugam added: "It doesn't matter whether they were directed at Uvaraja or not. They are not acceptable. Period." 

The officer who made the remark had apologised to Uvaraja in front of the whole team, he also shared.

While Uvaraja was offered the option of lodging an official complaint, he declined to do so.

Uvaraja also alleged that his superior had shredded his leave form, uploading a video of it to their group chat.

According to Shanmugam, the form wasn't needed for leave application but contained personal information, so it had to be disposed of.

"The superior could and should have managed the situation better. He was not behaving professionally," Shanmugam said, adding that the superior was punished after Uvaraja raised this matter up the chain of command.

There were also allegations that different superiors had used "abusive language" against Uvaraja, which were found to be untrue.

Cover-ups of officers' misconduct found untrue: Shanmugam

Uvaraja's Facebook post also alleged that his complaints about fellow officers vaping within police compounds were covered up.

This allegation was determined to be untrue - an investigation into his 2021 complaint was conducted via a surprise check of all lockers and personal belongings, but vapes were not found.

Uvaraja also complained about officers smoking within a different police compound in 2023. Investigations found evidence of this and disciplinary action was taken against the officers involved.

The late police officer also alleged that he was held back unfairly in his career and wasn't given fair performance appraisals.

Uvaraja was given ample opportunities to apply for different postings within the police force and his superiors complied with his requests where possible, Shanmugam said.

He revealed that Uvaraja had been transferred to six different work units within nine years, "significantly more than what is normally given".

"Investigations found that his performance grades were a fair assessment of his work contributions," Shanmugam stated, adding that Uvaraja was also a recipient of the Covid-19 Resilience Medal.

Uvaraja's post also alleged that he had been "treated like an outcast by his team", with him inviting them to his wedding but no one turning up.

According to investigations, Uvaraja had only invited his Officer-in-Charge, who fell ill on the day itself and couldn't attend, apologising to Uvaraja.

Uvaraja did also inform his Commanding Officer of his marriage, but did not send an invitation to him, Shanmugam said.

He added: "Nevertheless, his Commanding Officer had congratulated Uvaraja in front of his teammates."

Uvaraja given counselling assistance

Uvaraja had health issues that had him taking medical leave for extended periods of time during his employment as an officer, also facing mental health complications of anxiety, depression and insomnia.

In assisting Uvaraj with these conditions, the police provided him with "substantial amounts of time-off".

"From 2014 to 2023, Uvaraja took an average of about 120 days' of leave annually," Shanmugam revealed.

"This was beyond his normal leave entitlement, and much more that than what a typical police officer would get."

In particular, Uvaraja took over 100 days of no-pay leave in 2015, 2016 and 2022. He was also given counselling and psychological assistance since 2016.

As his performance was assessed to be below average, Uvaraja was also assigned guidance from his superiors while at work.

Teammates who worked alongside him also tried their best to care for him, covering for last-minute leave requests, sometimes at the cost of their own leave, Shanmugam said.

'No tolerance for any form of discrimination'

Shanmugam also shared the Home Team's framework for dealing with workplace harassment and grievances.

This involves training new staff and officers on the SPF's code of ethics, workplace harassment and actions that can be taken as victims or witnesses.

Supervisors are also educated on how they can construct a conducive workplace and prevent workplace harassment.

"There can be no tolerance for any form of discrimination. The responsibility starts at the top, from me… [to] the ranks below," Shanmugam firmly stated.

Should any allegations of harassment or discrimination arise at work, they would be thoroughly investigated by the Home Team Departments.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also conducts multiple surveys throughout the year to allow officers to provide feedback anonymously.

Officers also have access to psychological services, peer support programmes, psychologists, para-counsellors and external agency-administered services.

"We will stand by our officers and defend them," Shanmugam asserted, quoting a statement he made at the Police Workplan Seminar in May 2023.

"We cannot allow what has happened to the police forces in some other countries to happen in Singapore. We will set out the facts and defend our officers robustly, if they have done no wrong. 

"They must know that that is our position, in contrast to the position in many countries, where Police and the public service are often made the scapegoats, in public debates."

ALSO READ: Police officer found dead: Superiors tried to help him with his 'substantial challenges' at work, says SPF

khooyihang@asiaone.com