SINGAPORE: A veteran male police officer dressed up as a woman and molested a 15-year-old boy, after luring him to an HDB staircase landing on the pretext of asking him for help to adjust his bra.
On two other separate occasions, the officer also persuaded and recorded two 15-year-old boys he cajoled into performing sexual acts on video calls.
On Tuesday (March 24), the former cop, Sharizal Shafi’ee, 40, pleaded guilty to five charges, including the molestation and the recording acts.
Ten other charges involving similar offences against at least three other victims will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced on April 21.
A gag order is in place to protect the identity of the victims.
The court heard that on April 18, 2024, Sharizal left his flat dressed as a woman, wearing make-up on his face. He went to a secondary school and waited near its back gate to approach students to ask them for help in adjusting his bra.
Despite two students rejecting his advances, Sharizal persisted and found a 15-year-old male student who agreed after believing that he genuinely needed help.
Sharizal then led the boy to a nearby HDB staircase landing between the ninth and 10th floors and demonstrated how the boy should help him adjust his bra.
As the boy stood behind him, Sharizal started to grind against the teenager and reached behind to touch him.
It was not disclosed in court documents when a police report was made, but Sharizal was later tracked down by police officers and arrested 10 days later on April 28, 2024.
Forensic investigations on his phone revealed he had recorded at least 32 men performing sexual acts.
During investigations, Sharizal also admitted to having acted as a woman on social media to speak to other men.
He did this sometime in 2023 and befriended a 15-year-old boy online. He later told the boy that he wanted to see him perform a sex act on a video call, to which the boy agreed.
Sharizal, who continued to act as a woman, then secretly recorded the call. The video recording lasted for more than 12 minutes.
Sharizal admitted to using the same trick in April 2024 on another 15-year-old boy, recording him for a total of more than 12 minutes.
In mitigation, Sharizal’s lawyer said the former police officer has shown genuine remorse and is currently taking steps towards rehabilitation.
He pointed out that Sharizal had been a law-abiding citizen before his offences, with a distinguished 17-year career in the Singapore Police Force (SPF), which included several commendations.
In response, the prosecution said the severity of Sharizal’s offences speaks for itself.
“He had secretly recorded a total of 36 individuals, including four children, masturbating. During this period, he also physically acted on his criminal impulses and outraged the modesty of a 15-year-old schoolboy,” the prosecution added.
The SPF had earlier told The Straits Times that Sharizal was removed from front-line duties before he resigned on June 16, 2024.
Those found guilty of outrage of modesty can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or given a combination of the sentences.
Those found to have procured or attempted to procure the commission of any obscene or indecent act from a person below the age of 16 can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Those found guilty of intentionally producing child abuse material can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined, caned, or given a combination of the sentences. - The Straits Times/ANN
