The efforts of the police officers and teams that were involved in the solving of last week's Hougang kidnap case were acknowledged on Wednesday morning when they were presented with the Minister for Home Affairs Operational Excellence Award.
A total of 39 individual police officers, two departments and four units received their awards from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean at New Phoenix Park.
Assistant Director Major Crime Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Adrian Quek attributed the operation's success to timely reporting by the victim's family, the willingness of the family to trust the police and the close collaboration among the various police units.
The kidnapping case is Singapore's first since 2003. Madam Ng Lye Poh, the 79-year-old mother of Sheng Siong chief executive officer Lim Hock Chee, was kidnapped on the morning of Jan 8 after a trip to the market in Hougang. She was found at a bus stop along Seletar Aerospace Drive at about midnight the next day after the $2 million ransom was dropped off.
The two suspects were arrested about an hour later, and the ransom recovered. They have been charged under the Kidnapping Act.
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