Irate mother Vivien Chan took to Facebook to show her anger at how the Singaporean Police Force handled her complaint of a stranger pushing and hitting her five year old son at a convenience store on Saturday, January 6.
According to Mrs. Chan, the police have yet to arrest the man even though she and her husband provided surveillance footage of the incident and the address of the culprit to the police.
The incident occurred at the convenience store at 182A Rivervale Crescent. CCTV footage shows the man using his knee to push the boy aside, and then a few seconds later the man comes back, seems to scold the boy, then slaps him on the side of his face.
The boy was accompanied by the family’s helper at the time of the incident. According to a Facebook post by Mrs. Chan, the helper went home and asked the boy’s father to go after the alleged attacker:
“My hubby and I didn’t manage to get hold of the culprit after we rushed down with the maid to the vicinity, witnesses around the mini-mart and coffee shop at the same block pointed out that he had escaped to the same building. From words of mouths, he was a regular at the coffee house and had the look of a druggie, always stone-looking.
“Police was called and they arrived 25min later, nothing was done as they claimed they will file case and wait for further instruction, however they did leave a number so that if we manage to come across the attacker, Police will come and arrest him.”
Mrs. Chan further recounted that she and her husband provided the police with the man’s address and added that despite frequent follow-ups, the police did not arrest the man. She indicated online that she is angry and frustrated that the culprit remains at large:
“…thanks to the inefficient, unresponsive, unreliable, disappointing Sengkang (Neighbourhood Police Post) and the assigned (Investigating Officer), the attacker is still happily at home and loitering in the vicinity and looking for the next prey….As a parent residing in Spore, I’m really worried, is this really the only way (to wait) and is this the protection we are getting from the useless lame SPF! I hope by putting this in the media, someone could shed some enlightenment.”
The angry parent’s post seemed to strike a nerve with netizens and garnered about 1,500 comments besides being shared more than 6000 times:
Other netizens pointed out that the law dictates that a mere slap does not merit an arrest, and advised the parents as to what they can do under the law:
Some others claimed to know the alleged attacker, and alleged that the man as a history of committing acts of unprovoked aggression:
