NPCC changed my life

19-year-old Zhang Yi Tao shares how a search for his missing sister and the National Police Cadet Corps inspired him to join the Singapore Police Force.
by Tan Yi Wen, Home Team News reporter

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Photo from Home Team Career Centre
Singapore Police Force Overseas Scholarship holder Zhang Yi Tao (Right) believes that one of the qualities that will make a good police officer is being able to empathise with the public. He received his scholarship from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Mr Wong Kan Seng (Left).
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Obsessed with computer games, Zhang Yi Tao used to spend several hours daily taking down villains and monsters, so much so that it affected his studies and he ended up in the bottom five percent of his school cohort.

In a bid to steer him around, his parents got him to join the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) when he was a secondary two student.

The move worked.

His academic grades soared and he ended up in the top five percent of his cohort within a year.

“The NPCC taught me a lot in terms of maintaining discipline, which helped me to structure my life and discipline myself,” said Mr Zhang.

That was one aspect that attracted him to pursue a career with the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

The 19-year-old former Raffles Institution (Junior College) science student is one of the two individuals receiving the Singapore Police Force Overseas Scholarship (SPFOS) this year.

The SPFOS is a prestigious scholarship awarded to students with outstanding academic performance, strong leadership abilities, and a passion to serve the community through police work.

Mr Zhang received his scholarship award from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng at the Istana on 12th August.

The NPCC was not the only thing that inspired Mr Zhang, who is now a Probationary Inspector.

Last year, his sister (who was then three and a half years old) went missing during a shopping outing with the family. Recalling the harrowing incident, he said his whole family was really worried and he left the library where he was studying to help search for his sister.

The Police responded swiftly, and reassured Mr Zhang’s father that they would do their utmost to find her.After several hours, she was found.

“What the police officer did really made a lot of difference to my family,” said Mr. Zhang, adding that his whole family was very relieved and grateful to the police for finding his youngest sister.

Mr. Zhang has three younger sisters, aged five, seven and nine. His father is an associate engineer at the Building Construction Authority and his mother is a housewife and a part-time tuition teacher.

Keen to find out more about a police career, Mr. Zhang went on various attachments with the Ministry of Home Affairs during his first year at junior college.

He was given opportunities to go on patrols in police cars and visit various police specialist units such as the K-9 police dog unit in the Special Operations Command.

That further sealed his resolve to join the Force.

His junior college physics tutor, Mr Sze Guan Kheng said: “He is someone who will feel uncomfortable after staying in his comfort zone for too long. He enjoys new challenges and he works hard toward achieving his goals.”

Mr Zhang will read economics and engineering at Stanford University in the United States and is looking forward to completing his studies and joining the SPF.

He believes that being empathetic to others is especially important for a police officer in order to serve the community better.

Mr. Zhang also hopes to join the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as he thinks CID will be a mentally stimulating and challenging environment to work in.

His father, Mr. Zhang Zhi Bin, is happy with his son’s decision to join the SPF.

“The SPF has made a significant impact on my life, and I am glad that my son has chosen to join the Force to make a difference in the lives of others,” he said.