SINGAPORE: A 38-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attacking and injuring two traffic police officers with a stun device – a prohibited item in Singapore.
Other weapons – a samurai sword, two knuckle dusters, a chopper and a dagger – as well as various drug paraphernalia and controlled drugs – 236g of Ice, 11g of heroin, 56 Erimin-5 tablets and two Ecstasy tablets – were seized from the man, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release on Monday (Oct 30).
The man will be charged on Monday for various offences including voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, possession of offensive and scheduled weapon, drug trafficking and driving under the influence of drugs.
THE INCIDENT
At about 2.50am on Sunday, two traffic police officers, aged 32 and 29, were on patrol along Victoria Street when they spotted a speeding car.
The officers signalled for the male driver to pull over but he stopped along the second lane of the road instead, the police said.
When asked for his NRIC and driving licence, the man only produced the former, they added.
The officers then directed the driver to move his car to the side of the road for further checks. The man complied and stopped his car near the junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan.
“He then dashed out of his car suddenly and fled on foot with his belongings that exposed a black object resembling the handle of a weapon,” said the police.
The officers gave chase and stopped the man at a back alley near Jalan Klapa, where he dropped his belongings along with a samurai sword.
The man then allegedly took out a stun device and used it to tase the officers repeatedly, the police said.
“Despite their injuries caused by the stun device, the officers were able to subdue and arrest the man with the help of a passer-by,” the police said. The passer-by was a 22-year-old full-time national serviceman from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who was off-duty at that time, they added.
The 32-year-old officer suffered back injuries and was taken to the hospital. He has since been discharged with medical leave, the police said.
The other officer suffered injuries to his left hand and leg.
The Central Police Division presented the public spiritedness award to the 22-year-old NSF, Private Mohammed Akbar Madarsa Mohamed Sultan, for his “courage and public spiritedness” in assisting the traffic police officers in their arrest of the accused.
“The arrested man showed a blatant disregard for the law by attacking and injuring the police officers who were performing their duties,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Jeremy Ang, who is also commander of the Central Police Division.
“I would like to commend the bravery of the police officers and the off-duty (SCDF) officer who acted with courage when confronting a man armed with a weapon and worked bravely together to subdue and arrest him.”
In the news release on Monday, SPF said: “The police have zero tolerance for such brazen acts of violence against police officers and will not hesitate to take firm action against those who blatantly disregard the law.”
The police also reminded members of the public that it is an offence to carry an offensive or scheduled weapon in a public place.