Daily Lessons from Life 31 March 2010 - Ex-DSP jailed over fall guy

This is the end of 1Q10! The end of March 2010!! 1/4 of 2010 has passed us by!! I am blessed that I have enjoyed it with some work, some catching up with old friends from out-of-town, and those in town. Still working hard on the holisitic healthy lifestyle as well as on improving communication with family, relatives and friends!

"Ex-DSP jailed over fall guy - Wed, Mar 31, 2010 The Straits Times

A FORMER senior police officer was jailed six months by a district court on Wednesday for getting a scapegoat to take the rap for a friend caught for a traffic offence. Former deputy superintendent Kelvin Choo Yew Beng, 39, had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice on March 17.


Court documents said that student Evangeline Tay Sun Ann, 21, ran a red light at the junction of Lornie Road and Sime Road on Jan 22 last year, while driving her Bulgarian boyfriend's car without a driving licence while he was overseas.

She called Choo knowing that he is a police officer and offered S$1000 to another who can take the rap for her. Choo then roped in Leung Man Kwan."

It is a very sad situation as the DSP or ex-DSP has a promising career ahead of him when he made a very bad judgment call to help a friend!

Lessons for me are:

1. friends are friends and business is business. Nothing personal. Especially when it involved travesty of justice. Especially when you are the person entrusted with carrying out the laws! There is no room for emotional weakness!;

2. I am not sure what would the friend said now to this Ex-DSP as his career is wrecked and he is paying a very heavy price for helping a friend. Can this debt be repaid adequately? I am not sure what is the penalty for driving without licence. I wondered if the ex-DSP tried to rationalize by explaining the consequence to the friend about perverting the course of justice vs. driving without licence? Of course, it will be interesting to learn if the friend is a daughter or sister of a very important person in his life. So dear that he is obligated to help even when he knew it was the wrong thing to do. Maybe there was another rationalization that it is not a very serious crime since no property or human were injured or killed in this incident!;

3. while it is always easy to rationalize and advised what one should have done, I empathized with the Ex-DSP for wanting to help a friend. Especially if it is a dear friend. Hence, we must always practice the line of: 'I want to help with this issue. At the same time, I am not able to as it is the wrong thing to. When one breaks the laws, one has to have the courage to face the consequences.' It has to be a practiced line. Do it before you have to do it!!

May he get a break after his prison term and find something worthy for himself to work on as one mistake in a young life should not condemned him to a life of misery.