SCDF NSF Stole & Drove Ambulance With Blinker Lights Against Traffic to Visit Girlfriend

Have you ever been so in love with someone, you swore that you’d be able to do anything for them?

Nothing would have seemed impossible then, not even breaking the rules just so you’d get to see them even if for a little while.

Well, unfortunately for this NSF, love emergencies are not supposed to be dealt with in the same way as actual emergencies.

Stole An Ambulance

Haziq Syamim Esa, 21, pleaded guilty yesterday (4 November 2020) to counts of theft, cheating, as well as causing hurt by rash act.

The SCDF NSF was originally attached to Jalan Bahar Civil Defence Academy Complex Fire Rescue Training Centre, but because of his unsuitability for service, he was out of course at the time.

Cycling to the Sengkang Fire Station on 12 March in the wee hours of the night at 3am, Haziq told the sentry officer on duty that he was an off-duty EMS officer and convinced him that he needed to speak to an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officer.

His rouse worked for he was wearing an EMS T-shirt, and the officer let him into the premises.

There was an ambulance at the bay, which he then stole and drove off with.

You might be wondering how Haziq managed to do so without having the key, but in fact, the station’s standard operating procedure was to have the doors unlocked and leave the key inside the ignition while having the engine on. Faster response to incidents can then be ensured in this case, although they will probably have to review it in terms of security now.

Earlier in the night, an SCDF officer had actually driven the ambulance into the bay and parked it there with the engine still on, enabling Haziq to make the theft easily.

Drove To His Girlfriend

Haziq then activated the blinker lights and drove the stolen ambulance to The Amore condominium in Edgedale Plains, Punggol, where his girlfriend lived.

Court documents stated that at around 3:20am, he was driving the ambulance against the flow of traffic along Jalan Besar Road as well.

He arrived at the condominium at around 4:45am, telling the guard that he was there for a medical emergency.

Maybe he was referring to his heart?

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Yuxi held that Haziq “therefore intentionally induced (the guard) to lift the barrier for the ambulance to enter as it was an emergency vehicle.”

At the time, SCDF personnel had already discovered that the ambulance was missing at about 4:05am, and had dispatched several firefighters in a light fire attack vehicle, known as a Red Rhino, to locate it.

When they managed to find the missing vehicle at the condominium, Haziq was detained, and his escapade came to an end.

His reasons for making such a visit still remains unclear.

He Also Hit A Taxi Driver

Stealing an ambulance was not the end of Haziq’s crimes, it seemed.

On 2 May, Haziq rented a Toyota Prius and drove it to the Giant Hypermarket at Tampines North Drive 2, telling a security guard there that he came to pick up passengers.

He then approached a couple, which was seen as touting by a fellow taxi driver, who told him that it was illegal to do so, causing a dispute to break out between them.

Haziq returned to his rented car but the taxi driver tried to stop him from leaving and stood in front of his car, resulting in Haziq swerving the car to the right and hitting the taxi driver in the hip.

As he fell to the ground, he suffered from several scratches on his right elbow. Following that, Haziq drove off without stopping to help.

However, the court heard that Haziq had a history of schizophrenic disorder, which will be taken into consideration. Reports regarding his suitability for probation as well as a mandatory treatment order have been called for as well.

Mandatory treatment orders, also known as MTOs, can be imposed on offenders who suffer from psychiatric conditions and have to undergo psychiatric treatment to assess their mental health before imprisonment.

Haziq will be sentenced on 11 Dec, facing a jail term of up to seven years and a fine for theft, as well as a jail term of up to three years and a fine for cheating.