Unprofessional policing by the Traffic Police

[tanbk]

http://therealsingapore.com/content/unprofessional-policing-singapore-traffic-police

UNPROFESSIONAL POLICING BY THE SINGAPORE TRAFFIC POLICE

Post date:

7 Feb 2014 - 8:05am

Dear The Real Singapore,

I sent the following letter to the Singapore Police Force, but I did not hear from them ever since:

On 7 January 2014, the Traffic Police was conducting roadblock operation along Lavender Road. My father’s car was stopped for a Breath Evidential Analyser test at 12.20am. It turned out to be the most bizarre incident and was absolutely humiliating for my father because your officers refused to listen.

My father failed the Breathalyzer test, and only upon deep recall did my dad remember that the last thing that went into his mouth was a mouthwash -Listerine – of which its main content are water and alcohol. He has not had a drop of alcohol in the last 60 years of his life. Your officers may not know this and that is fine, but please listen when someone is making a legitimate request. My father asked for a 15-minute rest before doing a second confirmation test but his request was denied, and the officer insisted on bringing my dad back to the Traffic Police Headquarters. This was done in a manner that was completely rude, completely unprofessional.

As much as I understand that it is the official procedure for doing so, I would like to bring to attention that, in a circumstance where a driver had in fact consumed excessive alcohol, a 15-minute gap would not have made a significant difference and he would still be nabbed. On the flip side, for someone without alcohol consumption like in my father’s case, this 15-minute spiraled into an unnecessary 3-hour investigation of nothingness.

At the station, the second Breathalyzer test at 1.36am gave a result of zero (.000/100ml). However, my dad was not released until approximately an hour later. This hour of locking up needs explanation. A total of three hours spent on investigating what turned out to be a Breathalyzer reading of zero is far from being efficient. I believe our police officers can do better than this.

Traffic police officers on duty should be more discerning and flexible, and should carry out their duties on a case-by-case basis. I hope traffic police officers are now well aware that mouth alcohol (inclusive of vomit, burp, acid reflux, dentures and mouthwash) could cause one to fail the Breathalyzer test too, but that does not mean breaking the law. I urge the relevant authorities to make amendments to their current procedures so that it takes into consideration the above.

The Singapore Police Force is often lauded for their stellar performance in handling high-profile cases. However, when it comes down to the daily operations, it is disappointing to learn that there exists such incompetency and insensitivity.

I would want to remind this officer that roadblocks are done for a purpose. The purpose is to ensure road safety, to ensure no innocent victims get into an accident. The purpose is not for police officers to act suave and forceful towards innocent drivers.

We request for you to find out who this officer is and provide us with an explanation for the humiliating experience. We want to see actions taken against this officer. Roadblocks are a must, but irresponsible officers with no passion and knowledge of their job are not required. We seek a decent answer and compensation for the absolutely humiliating experience.

 

Letty

TRS Contributor

 

 

Another whiner from the TRS.

The government should ban this site for spreading discontentment.

Such a kuk-ku complain and you still have pple agreeing in the comments section. KNS.

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by tanbk

[Penn1]

quite hard to believe something like this actually happen and it has something to do with Listerine? goodness, it gives alcoholic another option.

[Kangadrool]

quite hard to believe something like this actually happen and it has something to do with Listerine? goodness, it gives alcoholic another option.

 

don't think you can drink Listerine.

 

Anyway, alcohol is cheaperer than Listerine relatively speaking.

[Hanan_ho]

http://therealsingapore.com/content/unprofessional-policing-singapore-traffic-police

UNPROFESSIONAL POLICING BY THE SINGAPORE TRAFFIC POLICE

Post date:

7 Feb 2014 - 8:05am

Dear The Real Singapore,

I sent the following letter to the Singapore Police Force, but I did not hear from them ever since:

On 7 January 2014, the Traffic Police was conducting roadblock operation along Lavender Road. My father’s car was stopped for a Breath Evidential Analyser test at 12.20am. It turned out to be the most bizarre incident and was absolutely humiliating for my father because your officers refused to listen.

My father failed the Breathalyzer test, and only upon deep recall did my dad remember that the last thing that went into his mouth was a mouthwash -Listerine – of which its main content are water and alcohol. He has not had a drop of alcohol in the last 60 years of his life. Your officers may not know this and that is fine, but please listen when someone is making a legitimate request. My father asked for a 15-minute rest before doing a second confirmation test but his request was denied, and the officer insisted on bringing my dad back to the Traffic Police Headquarters. This was done in a manner that was completely rude, completely unprofessional.

As much as I understand that it is the official procedure for doing so, I would like to bring to attention that, in a circumstance where a driver had in fact consumed excessive alcohol, a 15-minute gap would not have made a significant difference and he would still be nabbed. On the flip side, for someone without alcohol consumption like in my father’s case, this 15-minute spiraled into an unnecessary 3-hour investigation of nothingness.

At the station, the second Breathalyzer test at 1.36am gave a result of zero (.000/100ml). However, my dad was not released until approximately an hour later. This hour of locking up needs explanation. A total of three hours spent on investigating what turned out to be a Breathalyzer reading of zero is far from being efficient. I believe our police officers can do better than this.

Traffic police officers on duty should be more discerning and flexible, and should carry out their duties on a case-by-case basis. I hope traffic police officers are now well aware that mouth alcohol (inclusive of vomit, burp, acid reflux, dentures and mouthwash) could cause one to fail the Breathalyzer test too, but that does not mean breaking the law. I urge the relevant authorities to make amendments to their current procedures so that it takes into consideration the above.

The Singapore Police Force is often lauded for their stellar performance in handling high-profile cases. However, when it comes down to the daily operations, it is disappointing to learn that there exists such incompetency and insensitivity.

I would want to remind this officer that roadblocks are done for a purpose. The purpose is to ensure road safety, to ensure no innocent victims get into an accident. The purpose is not for police officers to act suave and forceful towards innocent drivers.

We request for you to find out who this officer is and provide us with an explanation for the humiliating experience. We want to see actions taken against this officer. Roadblocks are a must, but irresponsible officers with no passion and knowledge of their job are not required. We seek a decent answer and compensation for the absolutely humiliating experience.

 

Letty

TRS Contributor

 

 

Another whiner from the TRS.

The government should ban this site for spreading discontentment.

Such a kuk-ku complain and you still have pple agreeing in the comments section. KNS.

 

 

 

 

My thoughts after reading:

 

1. If every car ask for 15 mins then it will be a whole rows of cars jamming up around the area.

 

2. I assume is less than 1 hour wait. Imagine if the test is done at lavender road at 12.20am.. Then after some talks should be 12.30am. then journey to Ubi - TP HQ also need about 10 mins or so... So i assume is less than 30 mins - 45 mins wait which is still ok.

 

3. "TP is completely rude, completely unprofessional". Cos They never go for customer service course before? Must see also how the "dad reply mah

[Othello]

another one sided story. perhaps he left out some parts where the father behaved angrily to the officers ? Its std practice to bring back to station to take 2nd reading to confirm... to be fair to the police the "It's Listerine !!" excuse/reason does sound total BS at that point

 

and why did the father wash mouth with Listerine before going out at night ? visiting chicken coop or mistress ah ??

[GongJiaoWei]

Reminds me of a super good customer service officer clip:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mv9lrAGY

[Jman888]

 

My thoughts after reading:

 

1. If every car ask for 15 mins then it will be a whole rows of cars jamming up around the area.

 

2. I assume is less than 1 hour wait. Imagine if the test is done at lavender road at 12.20am.. Then after some talks should be 12.30am. then journey to Ubi - TP HQ also need about 10 mins or so... So i assume is less than 30 mins - 45 mins wait which is still ok.

 

3. "TP is completely rude, completely unprofessional". Cos They never go for customer service course before? Must see also how the "dad reply mah

 

 

they need a big car park to house all the driver asking for 15min each

another one sided story. perhaps he left out some parts where the father behaved angrily to the officers ? Its std practice to bring back to station to take 2nd reading to confirm... to be fair to the police the "It's Listerine !!" excuse/reason does sound total BS at that point

 

and why did the father wash mouth with Listerine before going out at 12am night ? visiting chicken coop or mistress ah ??

 

dun old man need to sleep early?

[Kb27]

Moral of the story?

 

Use a non-alcoholic mouthwash next time.

[Darryn]

It's well known that mouthwash has alcohol - which is why you shouldn't give listerine to very young children -

 

I think also (though I am not sure) that there may be an issue with Muslems and mouthwash...perhaps someone more knowledgeable could confirm / deny this?

 

quite hard to believe something like this actually happen and it has something to do with Listerine? goodness, it gives alcoholic another option.

 

[Kangadrool]

It's well known that mouthwash has alcohol - which is why you shouldn't give listerine to very young children -

 

I think also (though I am not sure) that there may be an issue with Muslems and mouthwash...perhaps someone more knowledgeable could confirm / deny this?

 

 

 

there are alcohol-free options including Listerine brand.

 

Those with alocohol actually cause even bad breath after using 'cos dry up the mouth further.

 

Cheapest and healthier way is to use a spoon (if you don't want to spend $1 on tongue scrapper) to scrape your tongue and drink plenty of water.

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by Kangadrool

[Tomorrow]

Reminds me of a super good customer service officer clip:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mv9lrAGY

 

 

Wow if every policemen are like this they we can see car with a police everywhere.. wahahaha...

[Baal]

Ate durian for supper? I had 2 ex colleagues who were durian lovers. As they at times share a durian after lunch, they have Listerine at their workstations.

[Guest EverestLeasing]

Reminds me of a super good customer service officer clip:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mv9lrAGY

 

 

wahahaha.....if the TP in sg is like tis, i swear to be an extremely GOOD driver at all time!

[ins1dious]

I side track a bit... my experience when dealing with traffic police has been that they're polite, reserved and imho overly passive. I admit I haven't interacted that many times but I have a feeling that mostly they all play the good cop role here.

 

Anyone have stories of impolite aggressive cops?

[Watwheels]

I think ppl over reacted and jump into defensive mode coz in their minds they did nothing wrong but becoz they behave aggressively towards the police who will believe what they say?

[Knoobie]

another person that yells without thinking...

 

if every one that fails the Breath analyser sits at the curb for 15 mins, people start to complain congestion.. or even worse, the drunken starts to start a drama at the road side.. people complain police did not handle it well also..

 

didn't he/she realise the true fact that his/her father used an alcohol mouth wash that also caused inconvenience to the officers on duty as well as the tax payers money?

[Vidz]

never trust the rubbish sites lah... they were all problem child one...

 

12 plus drink Listerine, don't go to bed, go Lavender find chicken ah? like some bro say all say want 15mins, then whole village waiting there liao...

 

if any policeman is rude, ask for name and NRIC. I am sure they are more polite than your primary school teacher.

 

dear letty, are you sure your father is really your father?

[Jellandross]

to be fair, i have only ever come into contact with the TP on the road twice in my life. both times, they were very professional, would clearly explain why you were stopped, efficiently carry out their jobs and case close move on. a TP is just another person with a job to make a living. i don't believe they will willfully be difficult just for fun as it will easily jeopardize their career in this day and age.

 

and considering this so-called report is from TRS.... enough said.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Jellandross