<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Cop who blogged about girl's death 'not traumatised'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The policeman who blamed himself for the death of a teenage girl in his blog was not traumatised.
The officer, who was not identified in the blog, had typed the entry on the 'spur of the moment', explained police chief of staff Soh Wai Wah.
'His supervisor and para-counsellors spoke to him, and they found he was emotionally stable,' Senior Assistant Commissioner Soh told The Sunday Times.
'He had written the entry on the spur of the moment after he heard about the death.'
The officer had arrested Secondary2 student Mernel Koh after he found her sleeping at the void deck of a block of flats in Bukit Batok two months ago.
Checking her identity card, he took her to the police station after realising she was wanted for an alleged shoplifting case. Mernel's case was scheduled for Sept30, but she was found dead that day, together with an older male friend, at the foot of a block in Bukit Batok West Avenue6.
She had jumped bail over the alleged offence.
When the officer found out about her death, he went online to voice his 'guilt'.
In his personal blog, now restricted to those who have been granted access by him, the officer wrote: 'I am a murderer. If only I did not screen her on that day...tragic might took a step backward (sic).'
He did not expect the girl to commit the 'silly act'.
Shin Min Daily News had, while researching the story, stumbled on the entry dated Oct3.
SAC Soh said the officer went back to work the next day and did not display signs of trauma.
The blog entry was seen as providing a rare insight into the psychological impact of what policemen on duty face. One netizen wrote: 'A policeman is human, after all.'
Research worldwide has shown police work to be among the most stressful of jobs.
Police psychologist Poh Li Li said, however, that cases of traumatised policemen are rare here. She added that there are safety nets in place in the police force to help officers in distress.
There are 12 police psychologists and more than 200 para-counsellors in the various police divisions who provide direct counselling help to staff with personal or work-related problems. Courses, too, help officers strengthen their resilience.
Officers can also air their feelings or concerns to their supervisors during the daily 'after action review', SAC Soh said.
Meanwhile, investigations are being carried out as to whether the officer breached police guidelines on blogs. SAC Soh stressed that the police are not 'anti-blogging' but officers must know they are not allowed to publicly reveal work-related information.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The policeman who blamed himself for the death of a teenage girl in his blog was not traumatised.
The officer, who was not identified in the blog, had typed the entry on the 'spur of the moment', explained police chief of staff Soh Wai Wah.
'His supervisor and para-counsellors spoke to him, and they found he was emotionally stable,' Senior Assistant Commissioner Soh told The Sunday Times.
'He had written the entry on the spur of the moment after he heard about the death.'
The officer had arrested Secondary2 student Mernel Koh after he found her sleeping at the void deck of a block of flats in Bukit Batok two months ago.
Checking her identity card, he took her to the police station after realising she was wanted for an alleged shoplifting case. Mernel's case was scheduled for Sept30, but she was found dead that day, together with an older male friend, at the foot of a block in Bukit Batok West Avenue6.
She had jumped bail over the alleged offence.
When the officer found out about her death, he went online to voice his 'guilt'.
In his personal blog, now restricted to those who have been granted access by him, the officer wrote: 'I am a murderer. If only I did not screen her on that day...tragic might took a step backward (sic).'
He did not expect the girl to commit the 'silly act'.
Shin Min Daily News had, while researching the story, stumbled on the entry dated Oct3.
SAC Soh said the officer went back to work the next day and did not display signs of trauma.
The blog entry was seen as providing a rare insight into the psychological impact of what policemen on duty face. One netizen wrote: 'A policeman is human, after all.'
Research worldwide has shown police work to be among the most stressful of jobs.
Police psychologist Poh Li Li said, however, that cases of traumatised policemen are rare here. She added that there are safety nets in place in the police force to help officers in distress.
There are 12 police psychologists and more than 200 para-counsellors in the various police divisions who provide direct counselling help to staff with personal or work-related problems. Courses, too, help officers strengthen their resilience.
Officers can also air their feelings or concerns to their supervisors during the daily 'after action review', SAC Soh said.
Meanwhile, investigations are being carried out as to whether the officer breached police guidelines on blogs. SAC Soh stressed that the police are not 'anti-blogging' but officers must know they are not allowed to publicly reveal work-related information.
