A 38-year-old suspended Singapore police officer pleaded guilty on Thursday, May 31 for being a senior member of the secret society and the head of a motorcycle gang. As the court found him guilty of his involvement in such illegal activities, the officer was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on Wednesday.
The convict, Umar Hassan was a senior staff sergeant at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division. During sentencing, he faced charges of being a member of an unlawful society, including two other charges, which were taken into consideration. He was arrested on November 18, 2016, after the police saw a video clip, which showed that a group of men chanting gang slogans at a wedding, which took place at Woodlands Street 41.
In 2007 he was recruited in the Sio Gi Ho Secret Society (SGHSS) as a senior gang member and the gang operations use to take place near Tekka Market in Little India. Prior to that, he established his biker gang in 2001 called Team Nitra Racing (TNR).
Later, in 2008, he submitted a proposal to the assistant headman of the secret society to affiliate the biker group to it and in return, the biker gang would provide manpower to the SGHSS.
However, Umar was suspended on December 2017, as investigators found pictures of the accused while showing a hand sign, which represents the illegal gang from the convict's Facebook page, mobile phone and laptop.
As reported, police said in a statement that they have reviewed screening processes for future potential officers and they offer the jobs to those shortlisted applicants only after the vetting. A police spokesperson has stated that the police department has recognized that they may not be able to detect the adverse background of all the applicants and the screening process was required to avoid similar cases like Umar in future.
After Umar was exposed, police conducted a more deep investigation on him and his past that included convict's involvement in the secret society and whether he attempted to hire a gang member or not.
In addition, the spokesman said that police also examined that sensitive information, which Umar knew, as they wanted to make sure that the accused did not use it in a prejudicial to the Singapore Police Force, and law and order. But as per the spokesperson, they did not find such issues.
However, as mentioned in the Societies Act, a person who is or acts as a member of an unlawful society or attends a meeting of an unlawful society, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine up to $5,000 or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
