List of Singapore police officers killed in the line of duty


This is a list of police officers from the Singapore Police Force who were killed in the line of duty, based on official records from the year 1900 to date. Line of duty deaths refers to any police officer who has died while carrying out duty which he is obligated and/or authorised to carry out. This would include officers who respond to incidents while off-duty as obligated by the Police Force Act, as well as those commuting to and from their place of duty or training.
The Singapore establishment generally avoids personalising or glorifying acts of personal sacrifice in contemporary Singaporean society, and this applies to the police force as well. There has been no public memorial or monument dedicated to police officer deaths until the opening of the Police Heritage Centre in the Police Headquarters at New Phoenix Park on 15 August 2002, where a Commemorative Gallery features a wall inscribed with the names of all fallen officers. Although open to the public, access to the centre is restricted via an appointment-only policy. There are otherwise no readily accessible published lists of all fallen officers' names whether in print or electronically.
Fallen officers are, however, honoured and commemorated through ceremonies or functions, such as a one-minute silence observed during the annual Police Day Parade. Police funerals featuring a flag draped casket, a three-volley salute, and a procession, amongst other elements, may be organised depending on the circumstance of death. Most funerals in recent years are much simpler affairs, partly as many of these deaths are attributed to accidents, but many of these ceremonies still receive local media coverage. Other ways of commemoration may include posthumous promotions and the awarding of state medals; there has been seven posthumous promotions and two posthumous Police Medal of Valour awardees since the 1990s.

Trends

Causes of death

Victims' Profile

The average age of slain police officers is 29.3 years of age, excluding 62 officers whose age were not reported. The highest number of casualties were in the 21–25 age band, making up 31.7% amongst officers whose age were reported, followed closely by those in the 26–30 age band, who make up 28.3%. While relative inexperience may be a factor, the generally young profile of police officers in Singapore and their greater probability of facing operational danger as frontline officers may also contribute to their premature deaths.
Age1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
to date		Total
to date
18-20000010010114
21–250000112125719
26–300000241620318
31–35000000021317
36–40000010012004
41–45000000021047
46–50000000000101
51–55000001000001
Not reported228326150321062

The ethnic profile of police officers has been traditionally disproportionate compared to the national ethnic profile, with a significantly higher proportion of ethnic Malays especially in the earlier decades. However, the number of casualties involving ethnic Chinese police officers are statistically higher overall due in part to the high mortality rates involving the ethnic Chinese community during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in the 1940s, and they make up 60.7% of total deaths.
Ethnicity1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
to date		Total
to date
Chinese2251251011038774
Malay0011590542936
Indian002001113109
Eurasians/Other000111100004

Rank1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
to date		Total
to date
Vigilante ConstableNANANANANANA000101
Police Constable0031280970NA30
Police Constable NANANANA01000001
Detective Police Constable2151236220NANA42
Trainee Special Constable000000000011
Special Constable000020011004
Lance Corporal010000000102
Corporal000010021419
Detective Corporal000002000NANA2
Special Constable CorporalNANANANANANA000134
Detective Lance Sergeant000020000NANA2
Sergeant000000021137
Staff Sergeant000001000135
Senior Staff Sergeant000000000202
Senior Staff Sergeant NANANANA00000011
Station Inspector000000000033
Detective Sub-Inspector0000110000NA2
National Service Probationary InspectorNANANANANANA000011
Inspector000101100003
Assistant Commandant0000010000NA1

Service1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
to date		Total
to date
Regular228331203159910112
Police National ServiceNANANANANANA011259
Volunteer Special ConstabularyNANANANA01000012

;Notes
The following cases are listed by the date of death, although the incident attributing to death may have occurred earlier. The indicated ranks are as at time of death, and do not include posthumous promotions. Ranks/service numbers are colour-coded based on the cause of death as per the following general classifications. Uncoded entries refer to cases whereby incident details are unknown or unclear:
Key

— denotes information is not available.






1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

DateRank/noNameAgeDivision/unitCircumstance
1980-12-05PC 2620Lim Kok Hui——Died in an accident during in-service preparation.
1982-08-02PC 9334——Knocked down and killed by a motorcycle.
1983-06-29PC 872635TrafficPC 8726 was involved in a convoy transporting three RSAF aircraft by road from Tengah Air Base to West Coast Road when he collided into one of the aircraft at the junction of Upper Ayer Rajah Road and Jurong Town Hall Road. He was dead on arrival at the hospital.
1984-09-21SC21—He was posted to do sentry duty at the guardroom of the Police Headquarters at Phoenix Park. While taking a lunch break, fellow officer, VC Jamaluddin Bin Ibrahim, 19, took SC Abdul Rahman's service revolver, and began to play with it despite being told not to do so by SC Abdul Rahman. Loading a single bullet into the revolver, he fired at SC Abdul Rahman's head, resulting in a single round discharged on his second trigger which killed the officer.
1984-11-24PC 281626TanglinPC 2816 and PC Lou Chung Hung, 20, were on mobile squad duty when they stopped two cyclists to conduct a routine check along Newton Road. PC 2816 was standing to the front of the police car and PC Lou towards the rear when a passing car knocked the police car into the pavement, injuring both officers. The car driver was found to be under the influence of alcohol. PC 2816 subsequently died in hospital, while PC Lou escaped with minor injuries.
1984-12-06Sgt 3370Chin Ah Kow43MarinePolice boat PX-5 left its base in Jurong for routine patrol. En route, SC Abdul Rashid Bin Mohammed Said shot Sgt 3370 in the head and threw his body overboard. PC 8627 and a fourth officer, PC Shamsudin Bin Haji Ali were forced off the boat, and subsequently found near Pulau Senang, by which time PC 8627 had drowned and PC Shamsudin the sole survivor. Sgt 3370's body was never found.
1984-12-06PC 862726MarinePolice boat PX-5 left its base in Jurong for routine patrol. En route, SC Abdul Rashid Bin Mohammed Said shot Sgt 3370 in the head and threw his body overboard. PC 8627 and a fourth officer, PC Shamsudin Bin Haji Ali were forced off the boat, and subsequently found near Pulau Senang, by which time PC 8627 had drowned and PC Shamsudin the sole survivor. Sgt 3370's body was never found.
1985-07-04PC 736536Paya LebarDied in hospital from his injuries sustained in a traffic accident when the patrol car he was driving collided into the back of a taxi in April 1985.
1985-12-19PC 3649Goh Ah Khia40CIDShot and killed by notorious gunman Lim Keng Peng aka Ah Huat, who had earlier killed a restaurant owner. PC 3649 and two other officers instructed Ah Huat to stop along Jalan Pelikat on 18 December 1985 after responding to a report of theft at the nearby Aroozoo Avenue, when he suddenly turned around and shot PC 3649. The officer died in hospital several hours later.
1989-02-16Cpl 297723BedokPC 2977 was on patrol duty when he and PC Chua Yew Hua gave chase to two suspects who had tried to break into a minimart and a hairdressing salon. The suspects ran in different directions, and the two officers pursued after each suspect alone. PC 2977 brought down one of the suspects, and engaged in a tussle with him on the ground near Tampines Block 127, during which the officer was repeatedly stabbed. The suspect managed to snatch the officer's revolver from his holster and shot him in the head. He went into a coma, and was given a rare field promotion to a rank of Corporal just before he died in hospital. PC Chua was also injured and hospitalised, but successfully arrested the other suspect. Cpl 2977 was the last police officer to die from firearms violence. After years of similar incidents, this incident prompted a redesign of the gun holster to make it snatch-proof, and officers were advised against splitting up when pursuing suspects for their personal safety.

1990s

2000s

2010s