A private investigation firm and one of its former partners have been fined after investigators were hired to secretly follow a Singapore police officer at his home and workplace for several weeks.
The case came to light after the officer noticed he was being followed and reported the matter to police.
On Sept 15, former CDiC Consultants partner Tan Hui Ting, 33, was fined S$24,000 after pleading guilty to one charge under the Private Security Industry Act for consenting to her firm providing a private investigator to conduct surveillance on the police officer without the required approval. Another charge was taken into consideration.
The case dates back to November 2021, when a man identified in court documents as Pai Hong Yao approached CDiC Consultants. He wanted investigators to look into a police officer who was handling a case involving his father.
Pai was dissatisfied with how the investigation was being conducted and wanted to find out whether the officer was a “good or bad policeman”, according to court proceedings.
The company agreed to take on the assignment despite knowing that the target was a police officer working at the Police Cantonment Complex.
Under Singapore law, prior approval from the Police Regulatory Department was required because the Police Cantonment Complex is a protected place. The company did not obtain that approval before carrying out the surveillance.
Four private investigators were subsequently assigned to follow the officer.
From Dec 16, 2021, to Jan 9, 2022, they monitored his movements at both his residence and workplace.
The surveillance sometimes lasted for extremely long periods. On several occasions, investigators followed him from around 7am until midnight, tracking where he went, who he met and when he arrived at or left different locations.
They also photographed the officer, his vehicles and his home.
Two photographs even captured him standing topless inside his home near the kitchen window.
Investigators also contacted the Police Cantonment Complex to determine whether the officer was inside the building.
Tan Hui Ting regularly passed updates and photographs to the client during the surveillance operation.
CDiC Consultants ultimately received S$25,100 for the assignment.
The surveillance finally came to an end on Jan 9, 2022, when the police officer realised that he was being followed.
He made a police report the following day.
Police subsequently used images from police and other CCTV cameras to identify the people involved in the surveillance.
The Singapore Police Force said this was the first case it was aware of in which a private investigation agency had been engaged to conduct surveillance on a police officer in connection with an investigation involving the officer’s target.
The authorities said the Police Cantonment Complex is a protected place because of the sensitive law-enforcement work carried out there.
Tan was not the first person sentenced in connection with the case.
On July 14, her fellow CDiC partner and managing director, Tan Kok Boon, 58, was fined S$25,000. The company itself was also fined S$20,000 for supplying private investigation services without the necessary approval.
Tan Hui Ting had stepped down as a partner of CDiC Consultants in May 2025, according to business records cited in court reporting.
The prosecution had sought a S$25,000 fine for Tan Hui Ting, pointing to the nature and duration of the surveillance and the fact that the target was a police officer working at a protected government facility.
Her defence argued that her role was primarily client-facing and involved coordinating updates, while Tan Kok Boon had a more supervisory role in the operation.
The court ultimately imposed the S$24,000 fine, which Tan paid in full.
Singapore’s Private Security Industry Act provides that carrying out certain security assignments without the required approval can result in a fine of up to S$50,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both.
The case highlights the legal restrictions surrounding private investigations in Singapore — particularly when surveillance involves police officers and protected government premises.
What began as a client’s attempt to investigate a police officer ultimately led to criminal proceedings, fines for the people and company involved, and a police investigation that lasted several years before the cases reached court.
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