Jail for cop who told woman that he could help with her CNB case if she had sex with him

Straits Times

6 hours ago

Sean Teo arriving at the State Courts on April 15. He was sentenced to 13 months' jail over three charges on June 20. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Jail for cop who told woman that he could help with her CNB case if she had sex with him
SINGAPORE – A police sergeant heard that a group of people – five women and three men – were arrested i n a drug case in late 2019 , and he wanted to learn more about the women.
Sean Teo then accessed a police computer platform even though he was not involved in the case, saved the women's particulars on his mobile phone and went through their social media profiles.
Assuming a false identity, he met one woman he found attractive and told her in December 2019 that he would help her with the case if she had sex with him. But the insurance agent rejected his advances.
On June 20, Teo, 29, was sentenced to 13 months' jail over three charges.
He had pleaded guilty to one count each of misusing a computer system, soliciting sexual gratification from the woman and an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
Court documents do not disclose the outcome of the woman's case, and the police said in an earlier statement that Teo has been suspended from service since January 2020.
Deputy public prosecutors David Menon and Jonathan Tan stated in the documents that the woman and seven others were arrested in a suite at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel on Nov 2, 2019.
Teo was conducting patrol duties that day when he heard a radio transmission about the case.
He was not dispatched to the scene, but one of his colleagues later shared a picture on a WhatsApp chat group of police officers, including Teo.
Taken at the suite, the photo showed a white powdery substance on a plate, an MBS access card and a rolled up $2 note.
Teo saved the photograph on his mobile phone, went on a police computer system and unlawfully accessed an incident report about the case to find out more about the five women.
The prosecutors said: 'The accused recorded (their) names and contact numbers... and saved them on his personal mobile phone...The accused searched for (their) social media profiles... as he wanted to see what they looked like.'
Teo found the insurance agent's public Instagram profile and decided to reach out to her.
He then used a Telegram account that was not linked to his mobile phone number and added her on the messaging platform.
He did this in an attempt to conceal his identity and avoid being implicated in any offences, said the prosecutors .
Teo contacted the woman via Telegram on Dec 7, 2019, claiming to be interested in buying insurance.
He introduced himself as 'James' when they met the next day and told the woman that he knew about the MBS incident.
He also claimed that he could help with her case by 'leveraging his connections' with senior officers at the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).
When the woman expressed her doubts, he showed her the picture taken at the MBS suite.
Teo was not authorised to show it to her, and he had committed an offence under the Official Secrets Act by doing so.
After seeing the photo , the woman became convinced that Teo could help her.
The prosecutors said: 'The accused told (the woman) that he had friends in CNB, and that he was aware of cases where subjects with connections in CNB could have their urine test results fabricated.
'(Teo claimed that) to do this, male subjects had to pay money, while female subjects could either pay money or sleep with the IO (investigation officer). None of this was true. The accused was not personally aware of any instance where CNB investigations had been resolved in this way.'
Teo then told the woman that he was willing to help her with the case if she had sex with him.
The woman replied that she would ponder over the proposal and the pair parted ways.
After the meeting, Teo continued exchanging messages with her via Telegram.
In these messages, he alternated between reminding the woman that he could help with her case, and soliciting a sexual and romantic relationship from her.
Teo also repeatedly asked her to 'be his woman', saying that she 'could sleep with him instead of sleeping with the CNB IO'.
To cover his tracks, he told the woman not to tell anyone about their exchanges, and he deleted his chat logs with her.
Court documents do not disclose how his offences came to light, but he later admitted to the authorities that he had been motivated by lust.
Teo's bail was set at $15,000 on June 20, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on July 7.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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