SINGAPORE – An off-duty Certis auxiliary policeman arrested at a shopping mall with a loaded service revolver in his possession in 2024 told investigators he had wanted to kill himself after his girlfriend broke up with him over his gambling habit.
Heng Jun Hao, 29, who was arrested at Bugis+ mall following a police search that involved more than 100 officers, was sentenced to six years, six months and two weeks’ jail and six strokes of the cane on April 8.
He had pleaded guilty to two charges – unlawful possession of a firearm and a separate charge of committing mischief – in October 2025.
In an earlier statement, Certis, a security company, said that Heng was suspended after he was first arrested in May 2024.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen told the court that Heng had been gambling since he was 20 years old and the habit had worsened over the years. He later promised his girlfriend that he would quit gambling.
Heng joined Certis as an auxiliary policeman in October 2023 and was later deployed to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore at Changi Airport.
On the evening of May 8, 2024, his girlfriend broke up with him after she found out that he had been gambling.
The break-up caused him to feel devastated, said the prosecutor.
Heng, who held the rank of sergeant, reported for work at the Agora building on Airport Boulevard the next day and was issued with his operational equipment at the Certis armoury.
Court documents stated that he was equipped with a revolver, 10 rounds of ammunition and a baton.
As part of the standard operational procedure, he also loaded five rounds of ammunition into the revolver.
Heng, who started his shift at 7.45am, returned to the Agora building at around 8pm after his work ended and told his partner that he had to use a restroom.
Heng then slipped some items, including the loaded revolver and baton, into his backpack and took a taxi to Sim Lim Square shopping mall in Rochor Canal Road.
After that, he went to a cinema at the nearby Bugis+ mall to watch a movie.
Shortly before 8.40pm, Certis received an automated system alert as Heng had failed to return his revolver more than 50 minutes after his shift ended.
