Singapore Police to probe racism in ranks after Indian-origin officer's death: Minister

Singapore, Feb 6

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) will investigate cases involving racial slurs or casual racism among its officers as "possible misconduct" and "a disciplinary breach", following the death of an Indian-origin officer who claimed to have been bullied by seniors, a minister announced on Tuesday.

Making a statement in the Parliament, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that the SPF has reviewed its policy on such cases.

Uvaraja Gopal, 35, died in hospital in July last year after he was found lying motionless at the foot of a residential block in Yishun. He had served with the police for more than 10 years and was last an officer with the Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Channel News Asia reported.

In a Facebook post that was later deleted, Uvaraja said he had been bullied by his superiors and subjected to ethnic slurs by his teammates. He also claimed that some officers’ misconduct was covered up, his performance appraisals were unfair to him, and he was ostracised at work.

He alleged that in 2019, his superior shredded his leave form and uploaded a video of this action in a group chat.

After the allegations, Shanmugam asked police to investigate claims saying: “We will get to the bottom of it. And be accountable. We have a clear policy of non-discrimination. All officers are entitled to be treated fairly. SPF as an organisation is committed to that principle. We will investigate the facts".

Police had said they found the allegations of racial discrimination made by Uvaraja in 2015 "unsubstantiated".

Shanmugam told the House on Tuesday that the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) has reviewed the findings and determined that "no further actions were needed".

The investigations found some of Uvaraja’s allegations were true and some officers involved were disciplined or punished at the time. But other allegations were false, the minister said.

He added that the police will "also continue to engage officers, shape culture, and engage in frank discussion" on such issues around racial slurs or casual racism through platforms like the annual ethics seminar.

Addressing Uvaraja’s claims that he was unfairly held back in his career and given unfair performance appraisals, Shanmugam said: "These are untrue".

As for his performance appraisals, Shanmugam said that investigations found his performance grades "were a fair assessment of his work contributions". He was also awarded the Covid-19 Resilience Medal.