The article you shared is from Goody Feed and discusses the suicide of a Singapore Police Force (SPF) officer, Sergeant Uvaraja Gopal, on July 21, 2023. The officer left behind a Facebook post detailing the toxic work culture he experienced in the SPF. The post has since been deleted but has been reposted by others.
A friend of the deceased officer, who was assigned to be his paracounsellor, shared more details about the officer’s situation. He alleges that a Commanding Officer (CO) had tried to fire the officer at one point.
According to the friend, Raj Naga, Sgt Uvaraja had sent him a four-minute-long voice message the afternoon he committed suicide. Raj was unable to respond immediately as he was out with family. By the time he could call Sgt Uvaraja back, it was too late. Raj shared that Sgt Uvaraja had asked him to share the truth of what he had faced in the SPF.
Raj shared that Sgt Uvaraja had faced struggles at work, including anxiety attacks and difficulties sleeping. These struggles were exacerbated by his responsibility of caring for his mother, who was recovering from a brain injury. Sgt Uvaraja had also gotten into an argument with his Team Leader over a racial slur, which he reported to his CO. However, his teammates failed to back up his claims, and his Team Leader was not held accountable.
Sgt Uvaraja had requested a transfer, but it was rejected. He took no-pay leave to care for his mother and underwent two surgeries for a lump on his leg and a deviated septum in his nose. Allegedly, his CO called him back to the office in December 2015 when he was on medical leave and questioned the validity of his medical conditions, used vulgarities against him, and shouted at him to resign. This incident led to an investigation against the CO.
Raj shared that Sgt Uvaraja wanted to transfer to another department and was assured by the Division Deputy Commander that the transfer would be approved. However, the transfer was rejected as Sgt Uvaraja received a poor performance grade. This caused his morale to drop even further.
During this trying time, the Division Commander apparently attempted to fire him. The employment termination was denied as Sgt Uvaraja’s medical issues were genuine. The Division Commander referred him to the Internal Affairs Office for investigation because he didn’t stay indoors during medical leave. In reality, he was on no-pay leave. No further action was taken against him, but the incident worsened his morale and sleep issues.
Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said the circumstances surrounding Sgt Uvaraja’s death will be thoroughly investigated. He noted that 40% of police officers are from minority races. He attended the wake as an MP for Nee Soon GRC and said his visit was to bring closure to Sgt Uvaraja’s family.
The article also mentions that others have been coming forward with their experiences with toxic work environments using the hashtag #timeforchangesg.
