Singapore man jailed for stealing police jacket had ‘fetishistic interest’ in uniforms

Lam Seng Yip, 52, was diagnosed with ‘fetishistic interest’, mainly in the uniforms of various uniformed services such as the military or police

Lam was previously convicted in 2019 of stealing operational items from police and Aetos traffic marshalls and given a mandatory treatment order

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Lam Seng Yip, 52, had already been convicted in 2019 of stealing operational items from police and Aetos traffic marshalls and given a mandatory treatment order. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 12 Jul 2023Updated: 9:12am, 12 Jul 2023

Upon noticing a police jacket on an unattended traffic officer’s motorcycle parked along the road, a man in Singapore with a fetish for uniforms decided to grab the item and take off with it.

Lam Seng Yip, 52, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two charges of theft in December last year.

A report from the Institute of Mental Health stated that Lam had been diagnosed with having “sadomasochistic and fetishistic interests amounting to a paraphilic disorder”.

His “fetishistic interest” was mainly in the uniforms of various uniformed services such as the military or police, court documents stated.

A traffic police officer watches traffic in downtown Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock

Lam had already been convicted in 2019 of stealing operational items from police and Aetos traffic marshalls and given a mandatory treatment order. Details of the order were not disclosed in court documents.