SINGAPORE — Police sergeant Uvaraja Gopal had been dealing with health and family problems at the time of his suicide and for periods throughout his police career, and the police had gone to “considerable lengths” to offer him support, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam.
Such support included substantial amounts of time off for Uvaraja, which amounted to an average of 120 days of medical and no-pay leave annually across his nine years of service.
Mr Shanmugam was delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 6), where he laid out the findings of an internal police investigation into allegations made by Uvaraja against the Singapore Police Force (SPF) before his death last July.
Uvaraja had posted on Facebook on July 21 alleging that he had endured workplace bullying, racial discrimination and family issues, before alluding that he would be dead by the time people read the post.
The 35-year-old was then found lying motionless at the foot of a Housing and Development Board block in Yishun on the same day and subsequently died in hospital.
Mr Shanmugam last July had asked the police to reinvestigate some of the claims of racial discrimination and workplace bullying.
On Tuesday, he said that the police review has found that some of the allegations were untrue. As for the allegations which were true, actions had been taken when Uvaraja made the complaint and he had been told of the steps that had been taken.
Mr Shanmugam added that the police findings have been reviewed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which was satisfied and determined that no further actions were needed.
HEALTH AND FAMILY PROBLEMS
Mr Shanmugam said that investigations by the police show that Uvaraja was dealing with a number of personal issues, some at the time of his passing and some for periods throughout his police career.
First were his health issues where, throughout his career as a police officer, Uvaraja had frequently applied for medical leave.
Such leave often lasted several months per year and, in some years, Uvaraja had also applied for no-pay leave to manage his health problems, after he had fully used up his paid leave entitlement. The no-pay leave was granted by SPF.
Mr Shanmugam added that Uvaraja also faced psychological stresses and chronic insomnia.
For instance, since 2017, Uvaraja had attended multiple psychological consultations for his chronic insomnia.
Uvaraja also displayed anxiety and depressive symptoms.
“I am setting these out in summary, without details — it would be preferable not to go into too much detail about an officer who has passed away,” said Mr Shanmugam. “But the records are there.”
Uvaraja also appeared to have had a “tense relationship” with both his wife and his family of origin, said Mr Shanmugam.
He outlined several instances where the police was called:
- Uvaraja’s wife called for police help during an argument in their matrimonial home in April 2023, where she had been stopped by him from leaving their home
- On July 13 last year, the police received multiple calls for assistance from Uvaraja’s parents’ residence, where his brother alleged that Uvaraja had assaulted him over some financial matters
- On the next day, Uvaraja’s mother lodged a police report against him, saying she feared for her safety
- On the same day, Uvaraja’s sister-in-law called for the police because Uvaraja had come to her house to look for his parents
Mr Shanmugam said that there are more facts relating to these events.
“We need to say something of the facts, because members (of the House) need an understanding of the situation he faced at the time when he committed suicide; and the stresses he was under,” he said.
“I am trying to convey some of the facts to members, without going too much into the disputes he had with (his family), which led to the police reports; and some background to the psychological issues he had and was receiving help for.”
Mr Shanmugam said that Uvaraja was the subject of three ongoing criminal and disciplinary investigations at the time of his suicide:
- The first was a criminal investigation for offences under the Penal Code and the Protection from Harassment Act
- Uvaraja was also under an internal disciplinary investigation for disobedience of orders in July 2023. The internal investigation was about an incident where he had left his house on multiple occasions while he was on medical leave. This is an offence in the SPF. He had been investigated for similar behaviour in 2016, where he had attended a relative’s graduation while on medical leave, and was given a verbal warning
- The third was another internal disciplinary investigation for disobedience of orders, where Uvaraja had left his uncompleted work unattended and refused to comply when told to return to finish the tasks, only doing so after being told a third time
SUPPORT BY SPF
Mr Shanmugam said that the police offered support to Uvaraja by allowing him to take substantial amounts of time off across his nine years of service.
From 2014 to 2023, Uvaraja took an average of about 120 days of leave a year. In some years, when he used up all his paid leave entitlements, he applied for no-pay leave, which was approved by SPF.
“This was beyond his normal leave entitlement, and much more that than what a typical police officer would get,” said Mr Shanmugam.
He also showed Members of Parliament a chart with a breakdown of Uvaraja’s leave over the years.
Since 2015, there were five years where Uvaraja took more than 50 days of medical leave, and in 2015, 2016 and 2022, he had taken more than a hundred days of no-pay leave.
Mr Shanmugam said the amount of no-pay leave and medical leave that Uvaraja was allowed to take and still stay in the force is not seen in many organisations, and “certainly not in the private sector”.
“The police force had been very, very supportive of trying to help this officer, and that’s the approach they take to every police officer,” he said.
Since 2016, Uvaraja’s superiors had also arranged counselling and psychological assistance for him.
In January 2023, when Uvaraja reported that he was experiencing work stress, a para-counsellor was assigned to him.
The next month, he was attended to by a para-counsellor and later by a psychologist from the Police Psychological Services Department. This was after he showed signs of being unstable when reporting to a new unit, following his request to be transferred.
Uvaraja also received coaching and guidance at work, after his superiors had assessed that his performance was below average, said Mr Shanmugam.
This took the form of face-to-face engagements, reviewing the plans for him and setting of achievable targets.
For example, while he was at the Community Policing Unit from 2018 to 2021, various work templates and resources were given to him to help him in carrying out his job functions.
His ex-colleagues had also tried to help him.
“One officer who had partnered Uvaraja shared that she had encouraged him to start afresh when he was given a new posting, despite his past unhappiness,” said Mr Shanmugam.
“But she was disappointed when he frequently did not show up for work.”
Another ex-colleague had arranged one-on-one chats with Uvaraja and had sent well-wishes to him on his birthdays to motivate him.
“I mentioned only two officers, but there were several others who have helped him during his period in the SPF,” said Mr Shanmugam.
“These teammates had worked alongside Uvaraja, they tried their best to help him, their best to care for him. They covered his shifts when he was absent from duties, sometimes even when they had made prior leave plans.”
These officers who were aware of his situation “felt sad that he had taken his life”, said Mr Shanmugam.
“But they were also disappointed with the untrue claims and allegations that he had made against the police force,” added Mr Shanmugam.
“There is also a considerable feeling among the many officers who helped him that despite so much being done for him by them in their individual capacities and by SPF as an organisation — because SPF went to considerable lengths to accommodate his needs, including his leave and medical needs — despite all that, he seems to have externalised many of his issues onto his colleagues in the SPF. And there is considerable sadness at that.”
