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S’pore Policewoman Can Do 28 Pull-Ups at One Go Even When Pull-Ups is Removed from IPPT

Chew Ming Hui

2022-12-10 , 12:16 pm

How many pull-ups can you do in one go?

Well, the answer doesn’t really matter.

A S’pore policewoman is bound to outdo you, so save your bragging for another occasion.

S’pore Policewoman Can Do 28 Pull-Ups at One Go

Sergeant (Sgt) Stephanie Koo isn’t your average woman, nor your average police officer.

She’s the first female officer to receive the Best in Operation Fitness Award.

The award is given to officers that excel in both their physical and operational tests. In other words, not only did she do well on her Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), she’s likely better than you in Shooting, Swimming and Police Contact Tactics as well.

Certainly, a jack of all trades, a woman to be reckoned with, and the type of award-winning daughter a Singaporean parent would love to have.

During her training in Training Command (TRACOM), not only did she manage to pull off 28 standard pull-ups all in one go, but she also scored Gold for all her three IPPTs.

We bet you don’t even know a guy who can do over 8 pull-ups. Girl power, indeed.

While pull-ups are no longer part of the IPPT stations, it is nonetheless still required of regular trainees in TRACOM to assess their fitness.

Currently, Sgt Koo is a Ground Response Force officer at Ang Mo Kio South Neighbourhood Police Centre.

But please—don’t start swarming the police centre now just to meet your newfound hero.

Taking on Her Responsibilities

While Sgt Koo was a trainee, she volunteered for the post of Physical Training In-Charge.

For the confused among us who aren’t familiar with the term, it’s exactly what it sounds like. As the Physical Training In-Charge, Sgt Koo was at the helm of organising and running the physical training regimes for her squad.

And she did all this during her free time.

Meanwhile, whenever we get a small pocket of free time, we’re trying sneak a quick watch of whatever we can of our favourite Netflix show… There’s a good reason why Sgt Koo is the award-holder and we aren’t.

Sgt Koo even took it upon herself to support female police officer trainees in her squad in getting fit, such as by creating a group in a fitness app to motivate her squad mates to upload and share their training sessions.

From NCC, to Baking Assistant, to Policewoman

Sgt Koo didn’t always want to be a policewoman.

She shared that when she was in secondary school, she was a cadet in the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

After secondary school, she decided to follow her heart and pursue a diploma in Pastry and Baking.

Driven by her passion for baking, she worked as a Baking Assistant for six years.

Even then, she did Muay Thai and rock climbing, making an effort to keep up with physical exercise.

Seeing this, there’s no excuse now for you to skip that morning run or evening workout.

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But why the sudden desire to join the police? The answer’s simple.

“I was inspired by reading Police Life articles on women in policing, and I learnt that women can also contribute to Singapore’s safety and security,” said Sgt Koo.

In a decision to challenge herself, she then chose to join the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

“If you train hard and work hard, you can achieve anything”

While we continue struggling to juggle work and life in the rat race that the entire nation seems to be stuck in, Sgt Koo shows us that it is more than possible to do so.

You just need to plan your time right.

The policewoman shares that she usually arranges her gym sessions to be before her night shift and during her day off.

This way, she’s able to ensure that she gets sufficient rest and avoids injury.

Further, she’s still able to find the time at home for her hobby, baking.

Fortunately, Sgt Koo isn’t your cousin, or Chinese New Year would be an absolute bloodbath for you every single year.

“At present, we have more than 1,800 female officers in the Force. Female officers are practically in every unit. If male officers are expected to scale a wall while bearing a 20kg load, female officers will do the same. If you train hard and work hard, you can achieve anything!” Sgt Koo added.

Appreciating the Sons and Daughters of Singapore

We’ve all heard of the recent news of the SCDF firefighter, CPL Edward H Go, who unfortunately died while fighting the Henderson Road blaze.

While the recent incident has sparked a variety of responses among Singaporeans, it has also triggered much discourse, wherein one of the topics is whether SCDF or SAF deserves more recognition.

As Singaporeans continue to mourn the news, let us remember to show our gratitude and appreciation to those who work round the clock daily to keep us safe, regardless of whether one is from the SCDF like CPL Edward H Go, SPF like Sgt Koo, or from the SAF.

All who are serving deserve to be appreciated for all that they’ve done, or are doing.