SINGAPORE - A police officer helped a friend make a false claim that she had been molested so she could avoid reporting for work, a court heard.

Mohammed Nazir Mohamed Rasid, 34, a staff sergeant attached to Transcom, and Cassandra Tan Xin Yi, 26, then an administrator at Marina Bay Sands Exhibition Centre, had been drinking with friends at a unit in Tampines on May 2 last year (2016), a public holiday.

At about 6am on May 3, she told the group she had to be at work at 9am.

While driving her in his car, Nazir told her he was going on long leave and asked her to accompany him. She said she would like to but had to work.

They then started discussing possible excuses Tan could give to her supervisor to avoid reporting for work.

She rejected the idea of seeing a doctor as she had previously received a final warning from her employer for skipping work for two weeks in April 2016 without reason.

Nazir then suggested she make a false report by claiming she was a victim of a snatch theft or outrage of modesty. She could then show her supervisor the police report and be excused from work. She agreed to the false claim of molest.

Nazir told her to tell the police that she had been waiting for a taxi when an unknown cyclist squeezed her breast before cycling off.

He even told her to describe the culprit as a "dark-skinned man of an unknown race, wearing a red cap and a long-sleeve shirt with unknown bottoms and unknown footwear", as that would be more believable.

He then drove her to Marine Parade Neighbourhood Police Centre to make the false report.

After giving a statement to investigation officer Sergeant Muhammad Muzill Yamani Mustazam at Block 21 Bedok South Road, she led him in a walk-through of the incident on May 3.

Substantial resources were exhausted by the police during follow-up investigation as a result of her false information.

On May 6, Sgt Muzill Yamani found out that Tan did not report to work on May 4, a day after the incident. She claimed she was scheduled to report to an "IO Javier" at Bedok police division for investigations.

The officer checked and found no investigation officer by that name. None of his team mates had made any appointment with her as well.

Tan went to Bedok police division on May 6 and said she wanted to drop the case. After further questioning, she admitted she had lied about the whole incident. She revealed Nazir had abetted her.

On Thursday (Feb 23), Nazir was given the maximum fine of $5,000 for abetting Tan by taking her to Block 21 Bedok South Road to give false information to a police officer that she had been molested. Tan was fined $2,000 after admitting to giving false information to the police on May 3.

The maximum punishment for the offence is one year's jail and a $5,000 fine.