Auxiliary police officer charged with carrying loaded gun at Bugis+ shopping mall
The Certis employee, who had been deployed at Changi Airport, failed to return his service revolver, ammunition and baton after his duty ended.
The Certis auxiliary police officer was allegedly armed with a Taurus revolver while he was at the fifth floor of the Bugis+ mall in Singapore. (Images: Singapore Police Force, Google Street View)
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SINGAPORE: A 27-year-old auxiliary police officer was charged in court on Saturday (May 11) for carrying a firearm at Bugis+ shopping centre.
Heng Jun Hao is accused of being armed with a loaded Taurus revolver while he was at the fifth floor of the mall between 8pm on Thursday and about 12.20am on Friday.
The gun was loaded with five rounds of ammunition, court documents said.
The Singaporean has been remanded at Changi Prison's Complex Medical Centre for examination.
The alarm was raised on Thursday after security company Certis alerted the police when its employee failed to return his service revolver and ammunition.
The man, who was deployed at Changi Airport, also did not return his baton to the armoury.
When the police arrived, the man had already left his workplace with the gun, 10 rounds of ammunition and baton. The police then used closed-circuit television (CCTV) images and cameras to establish his whereabouts.
More than 100 officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department, Central Police Division, Bedok Police Division, Airport Police Division and Special Operations Command responded to the incident.
He was arrested two-and-a-half hours later at Bugis+, which is along Victoria Street. The items were found in his bag.
Based on preliminary investigations, the man had reported to work and drawn his revolver before beginning his deployment at Changi Airport.
In a statement to the media, Certis said that the man failed to return his firearm at the end of his shift, and this was detected by the company's automated arms management system.
After his shift, the man changed out of his uniform and left his workplace with the revolver, ammunition and baton without authorisation, said the police.
The items were recovered from the man and the revolver was not discharged or used against anyone during the incident.
He has been suspended from service pending further police investigations.
If found guilty of unlawful carrying of a firearm, he faces a jail term of between five and 14 years, and at least six strokes of the cane.
