The police revealed in a press release this afternoon that a 32-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting ruling party politician, Dr Tan Wu Meng. The man was arrested for criminal trespass and is being investigated for voluntarily causing hurt to a Member of Parliament (MP), as well.
MP for Jurong GRC, Dr Tan had been conducting his Meet-the-People session (MPS) around 10pm at Block 334 Clementi Avenue 2 yesterday when a man rushed in and started pummeling Dr Tan with his fists in what has been described as an “unprovoked assault” by some MPs who spoke to reporters.
Dr Tan reportedly fell to the ground while residents and volunteers at the session tried to restrain the assailant. Dr Tan suffered bruises and “some abrasions” on his neck, which he has deemed “minor injuries”. Following the incident, the People’s Action Party (PAP) MP visited the A&E department of a local hospital but returned to his MPS to see more residents and finish writing appeal letters for his residents.
In a Facebook post on the incident today, Dr Tan claimed that though he does not know who his assailant is, he wrote an appeal letter for the assailant who had given some preliminary information on the troubles he faced, before the attack took place. Dr Tan recalled:
“During last night’s (16 Apr 2018) Meet-the-People Session, a young man suddenly rushed into the interview area and started hitting me. We had not yet interviewed him. I was with another resident, and suddenly found myself being hit and fell to the ground. Residents and volunteers who were present helped restrain him.
“A few more residents had not yet been seen, but I was able to see them afterwards, while reassuring the residents and some young volunteers who were also present.
“On the advice of Police and SCDF, I subsequently went to A&E for formal medical evaluation. The NUH A&E doctor was agreeable to let me resume my duties, and I returned back to MPS just before midnight to finish writing the appeal letters for my residents.
“The young man who attacked me had given a preliminary indication about his troubles during registration, and had brought some documentation about the problems he faced. I wrote an appeal for him last night too. Police are investigating. But whatever the outcome under the law, I hope he can get back on track and will try to help him do so.”
Fellow Jurong GRC MP, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Tharman Shanmugaratnam, commented on the issue in his personal Facebook page today. Calling the incident “completely unacceptable”, the DPM wrote:
“Very unfortunate that this happened – and completely unacceptable. Dr Tan Wu Meng and his volunteers handled it well. Police are investigating. But as Wu Meng says, we will find a way to help this young man get back in life eventually.
“I know Wu Meng puts much personal effort into every individual case, every resident who needs support. He will not be deterred.”
The police warned today that “threats, intimidation or violence against anyone, even more so against public servants or MPs performing their duties, will not be tolerated and offenders will be firmly dealt with”. It added that the suspect will be charged tomorrow.
< MP attacked at Clementi Meet-the-People Session >During last night's (16 Apr 2018) Meet-the-People Session, a young…
Posted by Tan Wu Meng 陈有明 on Monday, 16 April 2018
Very unfortunate that this happened – and completely unacceptable. Dr Tan Wu Meng and his volunteers handled it well….
Posted by Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday, 16 April 2018