Police Officer Sentenced for Corruptly Obtaining Sexual Favours from Female Subjects

Law enforcement officers have the duty to maintain law and order and conduct themselves with high levels of integrity and discipline. Those who abuse their positions to obtain or solicit any form of gratification in the course of their duties will face the full brunt of the law.

2. On 23 September 2020, Mahendran S/O Selvarajoo (“Mahendran”), a 32-year-old male Singaporean Staff Sergeant of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Computer Misuse Act.

Offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act

3. Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) revealed that sometime in early 2019, Mahendran had sought and received sexual gratification from two female subjects of investigations.

4. The first subject was arrested by Mahendran for a separate offence on 25 April 2019. After her statement was recorded, Mahendran gave her his personal mobile number. Although her case was subsequently transferred to another Police Division, Mahendran continued to contact her on the pretext of investigations, and even amended her statement to reflect more mitigating factors and help her avoid criminal prosecution. Subsequently on 30 April 2019, he obtained oral sex and sexual intercourse from her in the back of his personal vehicle at a multi-storey carpark at Block 264 Serangoon Central after telling her not to worry about the case.

5. The second subject was under Police investigations for a separate offence sometime in October 2017, and Mahendran was again the officer-in-charge. Even after her case had concluded, Mahendran stayed in contact with her without authorization. Then, sometime in February 2019, he deceived her into believing that her employer had contacted the Police about the investigations against her, in a bid to trick her into meeting him in person. During the meetup on 27 February 2019, Mahendran obtained two ‘handjobs’ from her in his personal vehicle at a multi-storey carpark at Block 590 Ang Mo Kio Street 51, and reassured her that he would reply favourably to her employer’s purported queries about her case.

Offences under the Computer Misuse Act

6. Investigations also revealed that Mahendran had accessed devices belonging to the two female subjects and copied out personal videos and folders from their devices to his personal storage devices without authority. In addition, he accessed a third female subject’s mobile phone and copied out three of her personal videos without authority.

Swift and Sure Action by the CPIB

7. Recognising the seriousness and severity of this case, CPIB acted expeditiously to arrest Mahendran on the same day it received information about the offences. Initially, Mahendran denied any corrupt intent on his part but the extensive and thorough investigations by CPIB officers uncovered evidence which eventually prompted Mahendran to admit and co-operate with the CPIB officers. The use of digital forensics and credibility assessment tools helped uncover the extent of Mahendran’s offences and his corrupt intent, including the fact that there was more than one subject from whom he had obtained sexual gratification. CPIB’s swift and comprehensive investigations have brought Mahendran to justice and prevented other subjects from falling prey to his sexual motives.

8. Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. CPIB takes a serious view of any corrupt practices and will not hesitate to take action against any party involved in such acts. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to both. CPIB will work with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to press for stiff deterrent sentences against public servants who commit corruption offences.

9. The CPIB looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047;
b) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000;
c) Lodge an e-Complaint; or
d) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg

10. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how the alleged corrupt act happened?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau