Over 2,000 Home Team officers commended for professionalism

Over 2,000 Home Team officers commended for professionalism

By Saifulbahri Ismail, TODAY

SINGAPORE: It was the largest transfer of inmates in the country’s prison history - involving some 5,000 inmates from five prison institutions to the Changi Prison Complex.

But the operation, which was not without risks, was carried out smoothly.

On Thursday, those involved in the move were among the over 2,000 Home Team officers commended for their professionalism and achievements in mounting successful operations between May 2007 and August this year.

A total of 152 awards were presented to these officers by Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, at a ceremony on Thursday.

The mass prison transfer – dubbed Operation Voyage – spanned five Sundays, involving more than 360 officers.

The movement in convoys over distances had its share of risks, said Deputy Superintendent of Prisons Faisal Mustaffa, who played a key role in the operation.

“There are myriad of challenges when it comes to escorting inmates in mass transfers,” he said.

He added that things like vehicle breakdowns, medical emergencies en route to the destination, and worst-case scenario accidents had to be factored into the plans, not just internally by the prisons team, but also with the other Home Team agencies.”

Another Home Team commended on Thursday was the group of police officers who helped solve the Cortina Watch heist earlier this year with assistance from the Thai police.

In the highly publicised case, former senior supervisor of Cortina Watch, Jerry Ee, misappropriated $7.9 million in luxury watches and cash. Ee managed to make the slip into Thailand, but the authorities were hot on his heels.

A team of four investigators from the Singapore Police Force travelled to Bangkok and began working with the Thai police.

Through the assistance of their Thai counterparts, a bank was identified where Ee was seen making a transaction. CCTV footage showing Ee trying to dispose of the watches served as evidence linking him to the crime.

The Singapore team also collaborated with a representative from Cortina Watch in Bangkok. Retailers dealing with expensive watches were alerted.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Burhanudeen Hussainar, one of the investigators in the case, said: “Once this network of retail watches was alerted to the serial numbers, it was difficult actually for Ee to dispose of (his loot) and – he realised this.”

With the police closing in, “I think he realised his time was up and he decided that enough was enough, so he called his lawyer,” ASP Burhanudeen said.

- TODAY/so

Source : Channel Newsasia - 13 November 2009

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