ICA officer targeted and stole from victims at Changi Airport

An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Changi Airport targeted five foreigners who were about to leave Singapore and stole cash totalling at least $650 from them.

The prosecution said that the victims realised their loss only after they left the country.

On Aug 26, Muhammad Fadhil Mohamed Salleh, 36, who committed the offences as he was facing financial woes at home, was sentenced to 14 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three theft charges relating to three people involving at least $550 in total.

Two other similar charges involving the remaining amount were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Fadhil has made no restitution, and The Straits Times has reached out to ICA to find out his current employment status with it.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Chia told the court that such offences tarnish Singapore’s reputation as an international travel hub.

He added: “Singapore has long been internationally recognised as a country that is safe and comfortable for travellers. It boasts the second-best airport in the world.

“It is impossible to maintain such a reputation if its own immigration officers, tasked to protect its borders, offend against foreigners visiting its shores.”

At the time of the offences, Fadhil was working at the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 4.

On Sept 20, 2023, a 33-year-old man from Vanuatu was attempting to clear immigration at the departure hall when he was flagged by the immigration system.

Court documents did not disclose why he was flagged, but Fadhil took him to an interview room, where he asked the younger man to place his backpack on a table.

Fadhil then told the man, identified in court documents as V4, to lay out the contents of the backpack and the latter complied.

The DPP said: “In the midst of checking V4’s items, the accused began counting V4’s cash in front of him. The accused would count a portion of the cash before placing it on the table for V4 to put away before continuing counting the rest of the cash.

“He first held the whole stack of cash in his left hand, before using his right hand to pull out each note from his left hand as he counted. After finishing counting a portion, he would use his right hand to place the counted notes on the table for V4 to put away.”

While counting the last portion, Fadhil tucked several notes in his right hand and used the same hand to continue thumbing through the notes in his left hand.

When he was finished counting, he kept the tucked notes in his right hand and shuffled the remaining notes back to his left hand. After that, he used his left hand to place those notes on the table for V4 to put away.

V4 was busy repacking his items when Fadhil balled the notes he had tucked away into his right hand and put his right hand into his pocket.

He later allowed V4 to clear immigration and leave Singapore.

A CCTV camera in the room recorded the incident, and Fadhil later admitted to investigators that he took at least $50 from V4.

By using a similar method, he stole $400 from a 32-year-old Thai woman on Sept 26, 2023, and at least $100 from a 45-year-old Vietnamese woman two days later.

The Thai woman later went on the ICA website and stated on a feedback form that one of the agency’s officers had stolen from her.

ICA conducted an investigation and one of Fadhil’s colleagues lodged a police report on Oct 1, 2023.

On Aug 26, DPP Chia urged the court to sentence the offender to up to 15 months’ jail, adding: “If travellers are not safe from even its (law enforcement officers), who are they safe from?

“General deterrence must therefore apply to signal an absolute intolerance towards such abuses by (such officers) whose actions risk tarnishing the country’s global standing.”

Fadhil’s bail was set at $10,000 and he is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on Sept 9 to begin serving his sentence.