SPF officer, 36, dies after being found motionless at foot of Yishun block, had posted on FB alleging bullying & 'toxic workplace culture'

Warning: This story contains descriptions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

A Singapore Police Force officer has died after he was found motionless at the foot of a Yishun apartment block.

The officer had apparently posted on Facebook prior to the incident, detailing his unhappiness and alleged grievances in his workplace.

SPF statement

In a statement on SPF's Facebook page on Jul. 21, the police confirmed they found a 36-year-old male police officer lying motionless at the foot of Blk 393 Yishun Avenue 6.

He was subsequently conveyed to hospital, where he passed away.

The statement added:

"The Police were aware of the challenges at work which had been raised by the officer in his Facebook post, and we had extended various assistance to him.

We will be looking thoroughly and will investigate into all the issues he has raised in his post.

We are all deeply saddened by the passing of a colleague. We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the officer and are assisting the family in their time of grief."

Deceased's Facebook post

On Jul. 21, at 4:36pm, a Facebook user named Raja Gopal shared a lengthy post of over a thousand words.

In the post, the user said his full name was Uvaraja S/O Gopal. According to Uvaraja, he had been in the force for 18 years and held the rank of Sergeant.

In the post, Uvaraja described how he was allegedly bullied and shunned in his workplace, claiming, among other things, that he was the target of racial insults and that he experienced a "toxic work culture."

Aspired to be a uniformed officer from young

Uvaraja said he aspired to be a uniformed officer since he was young and did his National Service with the police from 2005 to 2007.

He said that he was "involved in frontline policing, plainclothes operations covert and overt."

After he signed on as a regular police officer, he said he slowly found himself in a "toxic" workplace culture where "team members" played each other out for promotion.

Alleged that teammates used racist insults on him

Uvaraja claimed his troubles began after he was posted to a certain neighbourhood police centre (NPC).

He said he was called "keleng kia" (a derogatory term for an Indian person) and "black and smelly" by team members.

He said he felt that no matter "how well he performed", he was always "put down" by people saying he was "just a low-ranking nobody".

Uvaraja said he fought against "all this bullying" but found that "people were offended".

Next, he said he was stuck at his current rank as he supposedly never received a good appraisal from his superior, despite working "16-hour shifts."

Uvaraja said he tried leaving the NPC by successfully applying for a posting in 2019. However, he claimed that his top superior didn't allow him to post out due to "manpower issues".

After he stayed on, Uvaraja claimed that even though they labelled him as "not being a team player", he was "loaded with all the work of the team most of the time".

"I worked hard for all my arrests, but [my contributions were] brushed aside. Those who came to work just to sleep and do nothing got their ranks. While being a pro-active officer did not get anything."

Uvaraja said he still trusted "the process" and didn't leave SPF, and worked hard during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

He added that he invited his team members to his wedding but was "boycotted" and no one showed up.

Claimed he caught officers vaping

Uvaraja claimed that during the same year, in 2021, he blew the whistle on officers he caught vaping, but the case was "covered up."

He said he was finally transferred from his then-NPC to another one, but was still treated like an "outcast" in the new team.

"I went everywhere to ask for help but was shunned and said I was disobedient for reporting the wrongdoings," said Uvaraja, and named two superior officers who allegedly treated him badly.

He also alleged that he "called all the helplines" but was "scolded for doing so."

Shanmugam asked SPF to investigate thoroughly

In a Facebook post, also on Jul. 21, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam confirmed the officer's name, saying he had died under tragic circumstances and that the cause of death is still under investigation.

Shanmugam added that the police will thoroughly investigate the allegations made in Uvaraja's Facebook post.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

This article was originally published on Mothership. Its inclusion on this website is solely for education purposes.