Man Who Pretended to Be Police Officer to Steal S$1,200 in Cash & Camera Equipment Sentenced to 7 Weeks’ Jail


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You’d think that if you posed as a police officer, you’d have to look and act the part.

But this man did neither.

Man Who Pretended to Be Police Officer to Steal S$1,200 in Cash, Camera Equipment Sentenced to 7 Weeks’ Jail

Today (5 Apr), a 41-year-old Singaporean man has been jailed for posing as a police officer to steal cash and camera equipment from a driver.

Muhammad Arshad Muhammad Umar faces one charge of impersonating a public servant and one charge of theft and has been sentenced to seven weeks’ jail. He will begin serving his sentence on 6 April 2021.

According to TODAYonline, the court heard that the victim, Mr Craig James Dimmick, was driving along Wilkie Road on 5 November 2018 while trying to find a way to Mount Emily Road.

Mr Dimmick then stopped at Wilkie Apartments complex to smoke and look for a way to his destination.

At around 8:10am, Arshad had approached the 60-year-old investments manager and shouted that he was a police officer, threatening to arrest him.

When Mr Dimmick questioned him and asked for a verification of his identity, Arshad took out a card from his front breast pocket. The card was attached to a dark blue lanyard and had the word “Police” written on it in white letters.

That was actually his private security identification card.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Huo Jiongrui told the court that Arshad flashed the card at Mr Dimmick in a “rapid motion” with his fingers covering the card.

Ah yes, when you’re smoking through something, you truly have to commit to the act.

Even when Mr Dimmick told him that he could not see his information on the card, Arshad continued to threaten him with arrest. Arshad also yelled for his “[b]ack up” to “come” when a private-hire Grab driver entered the apartment compound.

Yes, he pretended that the Grab driver was his back-up. What a legend.

Mr Dimmick warned that he would call the police but unfazed, Arshad asserted, “I am the police, go ahead, call, call, call.”

Damn, with such confidence I wondered how he got caught.

He then blocked Mr Dimmick from entering the car and prevented him from closing the driver’s door.


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When the victim proceeded to call the police, Arshad opened the rear passenger door and stole Mr Dimmick’s camera bag which contained a Nikon D90 DSLR camera with a zoom lens, another lens, and other equipment, such as a camera battery and SD card.

Arshad also stole S$1,200 in cash and fled from the area.

Guess you could say, he did shoot his shot. Unsuccessfully.

For impersonating a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both. For theft, he could have been jailed for up to three years or fined, or punished with both.

Feature Image: New Africa / Shutterstock.com


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