Jail for policeman who stepped on walking stick of ‘Parrot Man’, lied twice to superior about it

SINGAPORE — Someone had called the police on serial political aspirant “Parrot Man” Zeng Guoyuan for being a nuisance in public. 

When he responded to the case, Senior Staff Sergeant Seah Chin Peng deliberately stepped on Mr Zeng’s walking stick, then lied to his superior, telling her it had happened because he had “lost his balance”.

A few days later, he lied to Inspector Paige Tan again, saying he was unable to find the walking stick when he returned to the scene because members of the public had taken it away. 

But his colleague’s body-worn camera had captured what really happened — Seah raising his leg and stepping hard on the walking stick.

The video footage also showed him taking the stick and saying: “This one throw”, before placing it at the back of his police car.

On Friday (July 26), the 48-year-old was sentenced to four months and two weeks’ jail for what a judge called “serious offences committed by an experienced police officer of 25 years’ standing”.

Seah was convicted last month after claiming trial to two charges of giving false information to a public servant. He had also pleaded guilty to another charge of committing mischief by damaging Mr Zeng’s walking stick, valued at S$28.

Seah’s lawyer, Ms Sofia Bakhash, said on Friday that he intends to appeal against his conviction and overall sentence. 

He remains out on S$15,000 bail pending the appeal.

Ms Bakhash told the court that Seah had made full compensation to Mr Zeng on April 2017.

In sentencing Seah, District Judge Brenda Tan noted that a deterrent sentence was “clearly warranted for all three of his offences”.

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“As a law enforcement officer, he is under the duty to uphold and enforce the law. Instead, he breached his duty in full public view… he then tried to cover up his misdeeds by giving false information to his fellow officer not once but twice, first misleading the investigation then perverting the course of justice,” the judge added.

In response to TODAY’s queries, a police spokesperson said that they began disciplinary proceedings against Seah following his conviction. He has been interdicted — that is, suspended without pay — since Oct 6, 2017.

“Officers of the Singapore Police Force are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. Officers who break the law will be dealt with severely and charged,” the spokesperson added.

For mischief, Seah could have been jailed up to a year, fined, or both. For giving false information, he could have been jailed up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

'PARROT MAN'

Mr Zeng has gained mild fame for his repeated attempts to run in elections and for the parrot that accompanies him everywhere, which earned him the nickname "Parrot Man".

The former acupuncturist stood as a Workers’ Party candidate in the 1991 General Election. He also tried to run as an independent candidate in the 2011 and 2015 General Elections and the 2012 Hougang by-election.

He had also been hauled to court before: In 2009, he was fined S$3,000 for putting up unapproved banners displaying a picture of terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari, and in 1996, he was convicted of molesting a woman at his former clinic.

Most recently, he was given a stern warning for allegedly assaulting two policemen last year.

WHAT HAPPENED

The incident took place on the morning of Oct 31, 2016. Seah and his partner, Sergeant Durganivashini Yogendran, were responding to a nuisance case outside the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple on Waterloo Street.

When they arrived, they spotted Mr Zeng sitting in a wheelchair outside the temple.

Seah then asked Mr Zeng for his walking stick. 

When Seah told him that he could hurt people with it, Mr Zeng stood up from his wheelchair and tried to take it back.

Seah guided him back to the wheelchair, examined the walking stick, told the other man that it was “very dangerous” as he could hurt someone else, then stepped on it hard. 

Seah also said to Mr Zeng that he had done so because it was the “third warning”.

Angered, Mr Zeng said two vulgarities. When Seah asked him what he had said, Mr Zeng told him not to disturb him or damage his things.

Seah then arrested him for disorderly behaviour and using abusive language against a public servant. Ultimately, no further action was taken against Mr Zeng.

Later that day, Seah self-recorded a statement in which he said he had lost his balance and was trying to avoid Mr Zeng when he stepped on the walking stick.

Three days later, on Nov 3, Inspector Tan asked him where the walking stick was. He told her it had been discarded by members of the public.

During the trial, footage from Sergeant Durganivashini’s body-worn camera was played back in court. Seah then admitted that he had deliberately stepped on the stick.

However, he argued that because he had suffered a stroke eight months before the incident, he had forgotten what had happened when he was giving his self-recorded statement.

Seah’s doctor testified that according to Seah’s neurologist, he had not suffered a stroke eight months earlier, but a transient ischaemic attack. The doctor explained that its effects are generally reversible.