SINGAPORE – A police officer was at work when he misappropriated nearly $1,800 in cash from a handbag that a security officer had found unattended and entrusted to him.
Muhammad Amzath Khan Abuayubul Ansari, who was then a Sergeant 2, committed the offence in August 2024 as he wanted to use the money to gamble on unlawful online portals and repay bank debts.
The Malaysian man resigned from the Singapore Police Force the following month, and the misappropriated money was fully recovered.
On March 6, the 24-year-old Singapore permanent resident was sentenced to seven months’ jail and a fine of $2,000.
He had pleaded guilty to one count each of criminal breach of trust and taking part in unlawful gambling activities.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Li Ting said Amzath had been placing bets on several unlicensed online gambling platforms since 2017.
He had created an account on one of the websites and obtained gaming credits by transferring funds to various bank accounts provided by the portal’s administrator.
By using such credits, he would go on the website to play casino games as well as place bets on sports and e-sports matches.
The DPP told the court that Amzath had placed more than $17,000 in bets on the website over 200 occasions in August 2024.
At around 5pm on Aug 24, 2024, a 19-year-old woman accidentally left her handbag behind when she boarded a private hire car outside a condominium complex in Middle Road.
The property’s security officers found the handbag. At around 7.40pm, one of them took the bag to Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC), where Amzath attended to him.
The 43-year-old security officer entrusted the handbag and its contents to the policeman.
He also handed a piece of paper listing the items found in the bag, including nearly $1,800 in cash, to Amzath.
DPP Lim said: “After taking over the handbag, the accused opened it on the countertop and confirmed that there was a bundle of cash in there.
“At that time, the (security officer) was seated in front of him at a counter. The accused then formed the intention to dishonestly misappropriate the cash for his personal use.”
When the security officer looked away, Amzath placed the handbag below the countertop, took out the money and hid it.
After that, he placed the handbag on the countertop and sealed it in a polymer bag in the security officer’s view before the older man left the NPC.
Amzath left work at about 8pm that day with the misappropriated cash.
In a bid to cover his tracks, he also shredded the list the security officer had given him.
At around 9.30pm, the woman returned to the condominium and approached its security officers, who said her handbag was at Rochor NPC in Kampong Kapor Road.
After she claimed her handbag there, she discovered the money was missing.
Amzath was arrested on Aug 25, 2024, and the cash was fully recovered from him 11 days later. He resigned on Sept 26 that year.
* Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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