''C.L.I.F.'' (''Courage, Loyalty, Integrity, Fairness'', or 警徽天职, commonly pronounced as cliff) is a
police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...
series produced by
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
Singapore in 2011 in collaboration with the
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, wea ...
. It was aired from 31 May to 27 June 2011 on free-to-air
MediaCorp Channel 8
Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Mediacorp, Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that ye ...
and consists of 20 episodes. The drama stars
Tay Ping Hui
Tay Ping Hui (born 10 November 1970) is a Singaporean actor and director. In 2014, Tay made his directorial debut with the basketball film ''Meeting the Giant''.
Early life
Tay attended Catholic High School (Primary and Secondary) and Catholi ...
,
Qi Yuwu
Qi Yuwu (; born 28 November 1976) is a Chinese actor based in Singapore. He is a permanent resident of Singapore and a contracted artiste under Beijing Enlight Media Group.
Early life and career
Qi studied at Guangzhou Physical Education Ins ...
,
Elvin Ng
Elvin Ng Choon Siong (; born 23 December 1980) is a Singaporean actor and former model.
Early life
Ng attended Jurong Primary School, Catholic High School and National Junior College. He graduated with an honours degree in English literatu ...
,
Joanne Peh
Joanne Peh Wei Siew (; born 25 April 1983) is a Singaporean actress and host managed under The Celebrity Agency. She was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006. She is married to Singapore-based Chinese actor Qi Yuwu.
Life ...
,
Chris Tong
Tong Bing Yu (formerly known as Chris Tong; born ; born on 14 June 1983) is a Malaysian actress, host, singer, and producer. She was the champion of Miss Malaysia Chinese Cosmos International 2006, later representing Malaysia in Switzerland a ...
and
Tracy Lee in the main roles with a large ensemble supporting cast. It was directed by Chong Liung Man, who previously directed another award-winning police procedural ''
C.I.D.'', which also starred Tay and Qi in the lead roles as police officers.
This drama is also the second Mediacorp production to be filmed entirely at outdoor locations after ''
Your Hand In Mine'', and the second Mediacorp production to have no news commentaries for ''News Tonight'' during credits. It was replaced by crime-prevention tips, and they were not shown in the repeat telecast.
The drama will return on the repeat telecast timeslot at 5.30pm from 6 December 2012 to 3 January 2013. It will be pre-empted on 1 January 2013 for a New Year's Day special programme.
The third installment of the series, ''
C.L.I.F. 3
''C.L.I.F. 3'' (''Courage, Loyalty, Integrity, Fairness'', or 警徽天职3) was a police procedural series produced by MediaCorp Singapore in 2014 in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force. It was broadcast from 9 April to 13 May 2014 on ...
'' premiered on 9 April 2014 and drew a record of 904,000 viewers on its debut episode.
Cast
Main characters
Other police officers
Other characters
*May Phua 潘淑钦 as Xu Yongmei (徐咏梅), Yee Tat's wife
*
Benjamin Heng Benjamin Heng (born 1976) is a Singaporean actor, known for starring in the romantic action film ''Eating Air'', the comedy film ''Lelio Popo'', and in the horror comedy film ''Zombiepura'', as well as in several television series, such as ''Anythin ...
王智国 as Tang Yew Cheng (唐耀成), Yew Jia's older brother
*
Adam Chen
Adam Chen (born 24 June 1976) is a Singaporean television and film actor.
Early life
Chen was educated at The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College. Whilst a civil engineering student at the National University of Singapore he did ...
詹金泉 as Lim Boon Loong (林文龙), Yee Tat's former colleague in the Security Command
*
Desmond Tan 陈泂江 as Xu Wenbin (徐文彬), Cheng Ling's boyfriend/fiancée
Plot
The series showcases various kinds of cases police units deal with, from complicated and sensitive cases such as illegal immigrants and hostage situations to textbook crimes such as arson, drug trafficking, rape and burglary.
The police force is tasked with handling security at the World Security Summit, which is to take place in several months. Over the weeks prior to the summit the different departments and police units at
Tanglin Police Division
The Tanglin Police Division (or 'E' Division) is one of the seven land divisions of the Singapore Police Force. Tanglin Division oversees the safety and security of the central region in Singapore. The division's policing jurisdiction covers sev ...
are kept busy with their various cases while preparing for the summit.
Team B leader ASP Chong Yee Tat and his partner SSI(2) Yu Chong Nam are part of the elite Special Investigations Section in the
CID
CID may refer to:
Film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film
* ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film
Television
* ''CID'' ( ...
. Yee Tat's work often takes him away from his wife Yongmei and their young son. Five years ago Yee Tat failed to crack a case in time and the suspect strangled his daughter before being apprehended. The girl was resuscitated but suffered irreversible brain damage. This case and the burden of having to juggle professional commitments with family life become a source of guilt for him throughout the series. ASP Zhang Cheng Ling, an officer with the
Police Coast Guard, was transferred to his team and is determined to prove herself in a mostly male team and overcome Chong Nam's prejudice about her.
Meanwhile, senior investigating officer SI Tang Yew Jia has a new partner, ASP Leow Xin Yi, a temporary transfer to his team in the investigation branch. Yew Jia's seemingly cold exterior frustrates the optimistic Xin Yi. It turns out that he had joined the police force with his older brother but the duo had a falling out over differing views and he is deeply troubled by it. He is especially irked by cases involving unfilial children or adolescent offenders with no regard for authority. Xin Yi finds herself emotionally affected by some of her cases and begins to question her values and principles.
Kampong Java NPCO Sgt Teo Kwee Xiang is well known for his incessant griping and complaining, which annoys his colleagues to the point where his team leader SSI Chao Kok Hung was about to have him transferred. Kwee Xiang is regularly partnered with rookie CPL Han Xiao Yang when on patrol. The duo began their working relationship badly due to their different temperaments and backgrounds. Xiao Yang, whose goal is to join the CID, comes from a wealthy family and is frustrated by Kwee Xiang's seemingly lack of ambition and commitment while Kwee Xiang frequently berates her for being too naive. She soon realises that beneath his aloofness and negativity is a kind heart and strong commitment to the job. Kwee Xiang softens his approach when he realises that Xiao Yang had joined the police force to escape her parents' iron hand but had come to love it. He also takes Sgt Koh Wen Xiong under his wing and the trio become close friends.
The police force is tested when they lose one of their own. Wen Xiong was killed in the line of duty by a mentally unstable and violent suspect. While pursuing the suspect Kwee Xiang was forced to open fire for the first time, killing the man. The team is deeply affected and Kwee Xiang, in particular, and Kok Hung deal with feelings of guilt. As the summit draws ever closer, preparations are again thwarted when Xin Yi becomes "collateral damage" while investigating a seemingly mundane kidnapping and burglary case and is held hostage by a mysterious Korean-American man. Her colleagues soon find themselves dealing with a complicated web of firearms trafficking and cover-ups involving an
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
-listed criminal syndicate.
In the epilogue (with a one-year time lapse), it is revealed that Kwee Xiang has been promoted to
staff sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.
History of title
In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...
and deputy team leader, Xiao Yang earned a transfer to the investigation branch and became Yew Jia's new partner; she and Kwee Xiang are now an item. Xin Yi finished her term and has returned to frontline duty at the
NPC. Cheng Ling's boyfriend proposed to her and she accepted. Yee Tat and his wife have reached a compromise and are reconciled.
Production
In order to inject realism, the main actors were put through a crash training course on police work and procedures conducted by the Training Command (TRACOM) at the Home Team Academy. Scenes were mostly filmed on location outdoors in various parts of Singapore and police establishments such as Tanglin Police Divisional HQ and Police Cantonment Complex. Police units featured include the
Criminal Investigation Department (CID),
Police Coast Guard, Security Command and
Special Operations Command specialist units including
Police Tactical Unit (PTU),
Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR),
K-9 unit,
Gurkha Contingent (GC) and
Crisis Negotiation Unit.
Episodes
Awards and nominations
''C.L.I.F.'' 警徽天职 was the 2nd most watched drama for 2011 with an average viewership of 924,000. The final episode attracted over 1,041,000 viewers. It also had 47,844 streams per episode, the highest average number of streams per episode on MediaCorp's Catch-Up TV portal on Xinmsn.
The series was also praised for the departure away from an idealised depiction of police officers and its more realistic portrayal of the unseen struggles and obstacles police officers and their families often face. In the past, most MediaCorp police procedurals were mostly focused on the action or comedy. In response, MediaCorp commissioned a second season, again in collaboration with the
SPF, and filming began at the end of September. Most of the main cast is retained. Prior to filming, it was confirmed that
Tay Ping Hui
Tay Ping Hui (born 10 November 1970) is a Singaporean actor and director. In 2014, Tay made his directorial debut with the basketball film ''Meeting the Giant''.
Early life
Tay attended Catholic High School (Primary and Secondary) and Catholi ...
and
Tracy Lee would not be returning and
Rui En
Loh Rui En (born 29 January 1981), better known by her stage name Rui En (瑞恩), is a Singaporean actress and was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006. She was under contract of MediaCorp and managed under Hype Records ...
,
Pierre Png
Pierre Png Tiang Huat (; born 29 October 1973), is a Singaporean actor. He is known for starring in multiple Singaporean MediaCorp's Channel 5 and Channel 8's dramas which include '' The Gentlemen'' and ''When Duty Calls''.
Early in his ca ...
and
Li Nanxing
Jonathan Lee Nam Heng (born 7 November 1964), better known as Li Nanxing (), is a Singaporean actor and was named as 'Ah-Ge' (大哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill. He is also a film director and producer.
Li has acted in many Chinese-lang ...
portrayed new characters. ''
C.L.I.F. 2
''C.L.I.F. 2'' (''Courage, Loyalty, Integrity, Fairness'', or 警徽天职2) was a police procedural series produced by MediaCorp Singapore in 2012 in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force. It was broadcast from 18 February to 15 March 20 ...
'' debuted in February 2013.
The other dramas nominated for Best Drama Series are ''
A Song to Remember
''A Song to Remember'' is a 1945 American biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin. Directed by Charles Vidor and starring Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, and Cornel Wilde.
Plot
Fr ...
'', ''
Kampong Ties
Kampong Ties is a Malaysian-Singaporean television drama series (co-production). It is also the third production by MediaCorp Studios Malaysia Sdn Bhd. It was telecast from every Monday to Thursday, at 10:00pm on Malaysia's ntv7, starting 27 Sep ...
'', ''
Secrets of Sale
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
'', and ''On The Fringe''.
Star Awards 2012
Star Awards 2012 (Chinese: 红星大奖 2012) was a double television award ceremony held in Singapore. It is part of the annual Star Awards organised by MediaCorp for the two free-to-air channels, MediaCorp Channel 8 and MediaCorp Channel U. '' ...
The show garnered a string of nominations at the
2012 Star Awards in both the acting and professional categories.
Overseas broadcast
See also
*
When Duty Calls
''When Duty Calls'' ( zh, s=卫国先锋) is a 20-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8 in 2017. It is to commemorate 50 years of National Service in Singapore. It is sponsored by Ministry of Defence and Ministr ...
References
External links
Official MediaCorp websiteCLIF on Singapore Police FacebookCatchup TV to watch all 20 episodes online
{{Singapore Police Force
Singapore Chinese dramas
2011 Singaporean television series debuts
2011 Singaporean television series endings
Singapore Police Force
Police procedural television series
Singaporean crime television series
2011 Singaporean television seasons
Channel 8 (Singapore) original programming
C.L.I.F.