A Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement officer is being investigated after he was caught on camera kicking a Personal Mobility Device (PMD) rider off his device and sending the rider flying along Bedok Reservoir Road.
A video capturing the incident began circulating online on 10 Dec and is going viral on Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram. The video, which was taken by a vehicle’s dashboard camera, shows four enforcement officers wearing high-visibility vests in pursuit of an e-scooter rider who was riding along the left-most lane of the road.
As the PMD rider approaches a traffic junction, one officer rushes forward and kicks the oncoming PMD rider, sending him flying off his device and crashing into the nearby sidewalk. The rider, whose present condition is unknown, can be seen getting up momentarily before falling down again in the viral video:
According to the Straits Times, the enforcement officers were engaged by the LTA to clamp down on errant PMD riders. Both the LTA and the police are reportedly investigating the incident.
The incident comes about a month after the Government announced on 4 Nov that all e-scooters will be banned from public footpaths. The new rule was introduced suddenly and went into effect the very next day, on 5 Nov.
The LTA, a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport, will issue a warning to those who flout the ban during the grace period from 5 Nov to 31 Dec. From 1 Jan 2020, those caught riding e-scooters on public footpaths will face fines of up to S$2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three months.