SCDF Officer Who Molested Female Subordinate Gets 15 Months' Jail

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer molested his female subordinate in 2021, once even doing so while she was attending to a patient.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

The man was sentenced to a year and three months' jail on Aug 6 after District Judge Eddy Tham convicted him of three molestation charges following a trial.

Details about the woman and the locations of the offences cannot be disclosed due to a gag order to protect her identity. Hence, The Straits Times is not disclosing details about the man.

In a statement in 2023, SCDF said the man has been suspended on half-pay since January that year. Its spokesperson added that the agency had also provided counselling to the victim.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Santhra Aiyyasamy stated in her submissions that the man was the victim's supervisor, and that they were close colleagues who shared information about their personal lives. The pair had also exchanged text messages on work and personal matters, the court heard.

DPP Santhra said: "The accused started using words like 'hugs'... 'kisses' to the victim in their text conversations."