SINGAPORE: An officer tasked with investigating vape-related offences molested two women whom he was interviewing and sexually harassed one of them.
Zaini Ibrahim, 55, was jailed for 28 months and 10 weeks on Friday (Jul 26). He pleaded guilty to two counts of molest, one count of insulting the modesty of the woman and one count of attempting to solicit sexual gratification.
Another nine charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
Health Sciences Authority (HSA) previously said that Zaini’s services had been terminated after an internal investigation. He had been employed as an Investigation Officer by a company named WSH Experts, which was contracted by the Tobacco Regulation Branch of HSA at the time.
Following the incident, HSA said additional safeguards will be adopted. These include requiring the presence of a female administrative staff member in the room at all times when a male investigation officer is interviewing female subjects.
The two victims cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities.
As part of his job, Zaini was tasked to investigate into the purchase, use and possession of prohibited tobacco-related products, such as vapes – or e-vaporisers – which are banned in Singapore. His duties included reviewing evidence, interviewing and recording statements from subjects before preparing an investigation report for HSA.
Zaini also submitted recommendations for penalties to HSA.
The first victim, a 44-year-old woman, had her case assigned to Zaini after she was caught with two vapes at Woodlands Checkpoint on Jul 3, 2022.
After calling her to schedule an interview, Zaini began exchanging WhatsApp messages with her. These messages soon became sexually explicit, with Zaini asking the victim to take a picture of her breast.
The victim declined to do so but Zaini continued to pester her with questions of a sexual nature and similar requests.
On Jul 6, 2022, Zaini was taking the victim’s statement in a conference room at WSH’s office when he made lewd comments about her.
As the victim was leaving, Zaini groped the victim, who slapped his hand away.
The victim then told Zaini that she was concerned about her potential penalty, as she was poor. In response, Zaini said he could recommend a notice of composition if the victim “helped” him in exchange. A notice of composition involves an offender paying a sum of money to settle the matter without going to court.
When the victim asked what Zaini meant, he said that he wanted to have sex with her. She did not respond to the request.
Zaini ultimately recommended a notice of composition for this victim.
The second victim, a 41-year-old woman, had her statement recorded by Zaini on Mar 29, 2022, after vape pods and a vape were found in her possession earlier that year.
While the two were initially seated opposite each other, Zaini asked her to sit closer to him, ostensibly so that he could show her some photos.
He eventually started touching her thigh, ignoring her protests. At one point, Zaini touched the victim’s groin for about half a minute.
While being investigated for the offences, Zaini admitted in his statement that he had been emboldened to touch the victim as he knew the victim believed that he had the power to make a lenient recommendation for her case.
The prosecution argued for Zaini to be sentenced to between 29 and 38 months’ jail, and 10 weeks’ jail in lieu of five strokes of the cane.
Deputy Public Prosecutor David Menon cited the first victim’s vulnerability as an aggravating factor.
“As a subject of investigation, the first victim’s fate was in the accused’s hands. Further, the first victim was indigent. The accused took advantage of her desperation when he attempted to extract gratification from her,” said Mr Menon.
Zaini had also displayed a “serious abuse” of his position of trust, as he had been an investigation officer, added Mr Menon.
