It’s always inspiring to see women take up leadership roles in their respective fields, and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Candy Ko’s story is no exception.
ASP Ko, 32, made history in April by becoming the first female to graduate from the 12-week Police Tactical Course in the Special Operations Command, alongside 63 other officers.
The mentally and physically challenging course hones trainees’ skills and tactics in dealing with public order and public security threats. It is one of the more physically gruelling courses, even for male officers.
At the graduation ceremony, where she served as Parade Commander, she was awarded the prestigious red beret, marking her new role as a Police Tactical Unit Officer.
On Thursday (Jun 27), ASP Ko’s husband, former Republic of Singapore Air Force officer Benjamin Alexander Chua (@ttbac), took to TikTok to share a moving message in honour of her achievement.
In his post, Benjamin revealed that last October, he donated his kidney to their four-year-old daughter, who used to require regular dialysis.
While this resulted in a downgrade of his physical employment status, he noted that it had “no consequences on his career” and was met with support from his superiors.
When the couple were deciding who would donate a kidney, Benjamin told ASP Ko he “wanted the bragging rights”.
“Truth is, I couldn’t bear to see her go under the knife again, something that she already went through twice to give birth,” he wrote.
Benjamin added that their decision for him to be the donor was the right one, as doing otherswise might affect ASP Ko’s career, and her recent achievement might have eluded her.
“As a mother having underwent childbirth twice, she kept up with the training many men younger than her struggle to keep up (sic). No one cares how much baggage you have in a race. They only care if you win the race. Congratulations on winning despite all that you have to carry. You deserve the red beret without any slightest doubt and I salute you from the bottom of my heart,” he added.
According to a feature by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), ASP Ko joined the force in 2014. With her latest milestone, the mum-of-two hopes to “give other women the confidence that they can achieve the same too”.
Benjamin’s TikTok post received an outpouring of support from other Singaporeans, with many expressing their respect for ASP Ko and dubbing her a “queen” and “badass” for achieving this feat. And we totally agree.