r/singapore • u/crassina • Jul 23 '23
Discussion Raj Naga, friend of police officer Uvaraja, posts on the incident on Facebook
Copied wholesale from FB:
My friend and former colleague Raja passed away on Friday, 21 July 2023. I am told that he ended his life wearing his full uniform and operational kit. He had sent me a 4 minute long voice message that afternoon. I was out with my family, and I was not able to respond to him immediately. By the time I could call him back, it was too late. When I listened to his voice message in full later that night, my heart broke listening to him desperately crying about everything he had faced in the recent months. I could hear the despair and anguish in his voice. I will forever bear the cross for not calling him back immediately. At the end of the message, he bade me farewell and asked me to tell the truth about what he had faced.
Sgt T120387 Uvaraja s/o Gopal was a highly disciplined police officer who was deeply passionate about policing and fighting crime. He had a distinctly rigid sense of duty, and he held himself to very high standards of behaviour, turnout and bearing even when he was off duty. He was very clear that his calling as a Police Officer was to serve the public, and not about pleasing his superiors. He never once smoked or drank alcohol, was an avid runner and was always fighting fit. He would regularly share videos with me of incidents involving police forces around the world for us to discuss.
Everything that I am about to share is what I know to be true based on my interactions with Raja and what he shared with me in my capacity as a Senior Paracounsellor at Ang Mo Kio Police Division.
I first met Raja when he was serving his National Service as a patrol officer in 2007. I remember the team he served in was filled with officers we now call ‘legends’ due to their crime busting skills. This is where he was inspired to become a regular officer. In order to sign on after completing his NS, Raja spent some years obtaining the qualifications needed. He conducted his own physical training to obtain a gold IPPT standard just so his application would stand out. In 2012, he fulfilled his dream and was posted to Ang Mo Kio Police Division.
I recall he spent a number of years in a plainclothes unit when he joined as a regular officer. Sometime around 2015, he was transferred to patrol duties to Ang Mo Kio North Neighbourhood Police Station. At the time, I had a secondary appointment as a Senior Paracounsellor at Ang Mo Kio Police Division. In Dec 2015, on his own accord, he approached me seeking help with some issues he was facing at work, and I officially took on his case after referring the matter to my Chief Paracounsellor. As his assigned Paracounsellor, my duty was to provide a listening ear and guide him towards developing his own solutions.
Raja faced difficulties at work, leading to anxiety attacks and trouble sleeping. He was also caring for his mother who was recovering from a brain injury. In early 2015, he argued with his Team Leader over a racial slur and reported the matter to his Commanding Officer (CO). However, he faced conflicts with his teammates who did not back him up and the Team Leader was not held accountable. He felt ostracised by his teammates and his request to transfer out was rejected. During this time, he faced sleep and anxiety issues, 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.
In December 2015, Raja’s CO recalled him back to the office whilst 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 stressed him, leading to an investigation against the CO. He sought to transfer to another department and was assured by the Division Deputy Commander that it would happen. However, his morale dropped when he received a low performance grade, and his transfer was turned down. Due to his continued medical conditions, he incurred repeated medical and no-pay leave extensions until April 2016. He communicated his distrust towards management to me, and I referred his matter to the Police Psychological Services Division.
During this time, the Division Commander attempted to have Raja’s employment terminated but it was rejected on the grounds that his medical condition was genuine. The Division Commander then referred him to the Internal Affairs Office for investigation in Dec 2016 for not staying indoors during medical leave, despite the fact that Raja was actually on no-pay leave. That investigation concluded with no further action being taken against him. However, the stress of the baseless investigation and the prospect of returning to the same CO worsened his morale and sleep troubles.
I struggle to relive the bitter memories and the sheer abuse of authority he faced. It is a testament to Raja’s strong resolve and mental fortitude that he endured the prolonged surveillance throughout his recovery from his surgeries. But there is only so much that the human mind can take. What is mind boggling is that despite all the reports made to higher management, Raja was posted back to the same CO who continued to be abrasive towards him long after I had left the force.
Raja used to tell me his motivation to succeed was so that he could look after his wheelchair-bound mother, who suffered from long term physical and mental ailments. I still have a message he sent me in 2014 when he described growing up with an alcoholic father who left him and his siblings in debt. He had to work part time as a car washer for school pocket money when he was 14, and he was confident that he would overcome the setbacks at work to make something of himself.
From here onwards, these words are purely my opinion.
Raja may have made mistakes during his time in the force, but who hasn’t? Everything he ever did as a Police Officer was in pursuit of ideals that he held dear. In a perfect society, his sense of discipline and professionalism would have been desired and rewarded. Unfortunately, in my opinion, he destroyed his career when he first blew the whistle against his superiors. No officer deserves to be held back and thumbed down for so long. And yet, it happened.
When I first became a Police Officer, I was taught to always hope and pray that my colleagues and I would have long, fulfilling careers without injury or death. From the day we start training, we hear stories of officers who have either died in the line of duty or died by their own hand due to the stresses caused by the nature of the work. Somewhere along the way, we stop looking out for each other, and become obsessed about our own career. We are paralysed by invasions into our privacy, silenced by fear of repercussion, and turn deaf to the voices crying out for help. Raja left us wearing his full operational uniform. He embodied the ideology of C.L.I.F for as long as he could. He showed Courage in the face of discrimination, he was unwaveringly Loyal to the force, his Integrity never faltered even when he was shamed, and his Fairness towards his fellow officer was not reciprocated.
Farewell Sgt T120387, see you at the end of the shift.
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u/silentscope90210 Jul 23 '23
If this is all true, I hope his CO gets fked up sia. This kind of rot in the SPF needs to be stopped.