Significant resources spent to probe ex-WP MP Raeesah's allegations: Police

Significant resources were dedicated to investigating former Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan's allegation in Parliament about a sexual assault case, said the police yesterday.

After she made the claim, police officers went through two rounds of checking their records, including all records of visitors to all police stations in the country since Jan 1, 2017.

The aim was to identify the alleged visit, said the police in a statement yesterday.

Ms Khan, in a speech in the House on Aug 3, said she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, but the victim cried after she was asked by the police about her dressing and whether she had been drinking.

Ms Khan has since confessed to lying, saying she did not go to the police station with the victim.

Last Friday, Workers' Party chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, appearing before the Committee of Privileges, said he felt the lie told by Ms Khan did not cause the police much harm.

And how much work did the police put in to investigate the allegations, asked Mr Singh.

Yesterday, the police statement said: "A substantial amount of resources were dedicated to this because it was a statement made by an MP in Parliament, and was taken seriously and at face value."

The officers also considered the possibility that Ms Khan had accompanied a victim, without entering a police station.

So, they combed through more than 1,400 sexual assault and related cases from 2018 to this year, and narrowed the list down to cases that appeared to match Ms Khan's account in Parliament.

The police said: "The investigation officers in charge of these cases were all asked to check through their investigation records in detail. Other details were also checked with the officers.

"Police officers also checked through all the feedback received from members of the public in 2018, relating to sexual assault, but could not link any feedback to the case mentioned by Ms Khan."

The police had dedicated significant resources to investigate Ms Khan's claims and many officers had been involved, the statement said. It added that the quantitative impact of such falsehoods is not just in terms of the man-hours lost.

"There were also delays in handling other matters and cases, with impact on members of the public - whose cases could have been handled faster had time and resources not been wasted trying to investigate an incident which never happened."

According to a special report on Sunday, Mr Singh, in his testimony to the Committee of Privileges, said Ms Khan had not been able to substantiate her allegation. He also disagreed that the false anecdote would have had an adverse impact on the work of the police.

He said: "The police is not some broken-back organisation... I solemnly and sincerely believe if you speak to any senior police officer worth his salt, he or she will tell you that in the course of investigations there can be a number of situations where certain questions are put to a witness which are uncomfortable for that person."

Responding, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said a wrong was done to the police because time had been wasted by the police "chasing their tails for three months" to find the case Ms Khan was talking about.

Mr Singh disagreed.

He said Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan, in the same session of Parliament, had said the police could not find any case that fit Ms Khan's account.

"So what work was actually done? I am not aware. I am not saying no work was done, obviously work must have been done, done to check," said Mr Singh.

When Mr Tong suggested that the police would have had to go through all their cases to check, since the allegation made in Parliament was serious and had to be addressed, Mr Singh replied: "I do not believe I heard that from the police. I did not hear anywhere that they've gone through all the cases."

Yesterday, the police said public trust in the police force is key to officers' ability to carry out their mission effectively, to ensure the safety and security of the people.

False accusations against the police also have an impact on victims' trust and confidence in the police, and may deter victims from coming forward to seek help.

"The police therefore take all allegations against our professionalism seriously. When allegations are made, we investigate carefully, and if they are true, we take steps to rectify the mistakes, and minimise the possibility of them recurring."

False anecdotes, such as the one told by Ms Khan, will cast doubt on, and over time erode public trust in the police, the statement added.

"Comments that downplay or dismiss the impact of false allegations against the police, are discouraging. They can also affect the morale of our officers, who work hard every day to keep Singaporeans safe and secure."

WHAT WORK WAS DONE?

MR PRITAM SINGH, Workers' Party chief and Leader of the Opposition, in his testimony before the Committee of Privileges last Friday. He was responding to Mr Edwin Tong, Culture, Community and Youth Minister and Second Minister for Law, who said a wrong was done to the police and time was wasted when they tried to track down the case Ms Raeesah Khan had spoken about in Parliament.

MASSIVE EFFORT BY POLICE

THE POLICE in a statement yesterday, in response to Mr Singh's comments on the impact of Ms Khan's false statements on the police and the amount of work done by the police to investigate her allegations.