Respect Is Earned

Chua Wee Yong
Principal Special Investigator

While out with my wife at a shopping centre one weekend, I bumped into Peter*. Peter was happy to see me, and told me that he was now doing well, running a food business. I was glad for him. After that, we shook hands and parted amicably. You might think that Peter was a long-lost friend of mine. In fact, Peter was someone I had previously investigated and put behind bars. My wife was very surprised that there was no trace of animosity at all from Peter.

Respect is earned. This is one key lesson I’ve learnt in my experience as an investigator. During my interviews with Peter, I took the time to understand and build rapport with him. Most importantly, I treated him professionally and with respect, which eventually got him to open up about his offence and led to the solving of the case.

Eventually, seeing people turn over a new leaf and rebuild their lives honestly and for the better is very gratifying for me. Not many of us can say this but I feel proud to have done my job to maintain a corruption-free Singapore.

*Name has been changed.