Netizens were shocked this week to be asked if they had witnessed a pregnant woman being kicked by a safe distancing ambassador, or SDA, at a playground in Woodlands.
The woman, who gives her name as Mai Surah, also tagged Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and several government agencies in a Facebook post when she appealed for witnesses in he Facebook post.
Among the photos she posted was one of an identity badge of an SDA, which she says she picked up after the incident.
The police are now investigating the allegation and the Housing Board said on Mar 17 that it is aware of the incident.
Ms Mai Surah wrote that shortly after 6 pm on Mar 8, her husband noticed that two men and a woman were “loitering” at a playground near Woodlands Avenue 1 Block 536A, where their three children were playing, and were taking photos of the kids.
That prompted her husband to approach them and ask why they were photographing the children, she said.
Ms Mai Surah said that one of the two men retorted that “nothing concerns you” and “I will delete them later”. That man then “shoved” her husband, she said, who then chased after them on a bicycle.
Ms Mai went after them on foot, and took photos of the three. As she was doing so, she said, the woman in the trio “pushed me down onto the road” and she fell on on her tummy. She was alarmed because she is nine months pregnant.
While she was down, she said, one of the two men kicked her. Her husband stopped this man from fleeing and held him down while they waited for the police to arrive,. The other man and the woman ran away.
Ms Mai said that while she was pushed and kicked, a car drove by and whoever was in it presumably saw what was happening.
“It turned out that these 2 men and 1 women were SDAs. I found the pass at the grass patch but we are still unsure if they are REAL SDAs.”
She posted photos of the supposed SDAs and the pass that she had found. The police arrived and a statement from them. The couple also filed a report.
Fortunately, Ms Mai Surah says her baby is all right, although she herself suffered from bruises and a swollen face.
She is now appealing for witnesses because it has been a week after the incident and they have not received any updates.
“In order to make a stronger case, we need witnesses and the (person in the) car that drove by to give their account on what they saw.
I have so many questions regarding these SDAs.
1. Why didn’t they identify themselves when asked? They also did not display their passes.
2. Why are they running away and appear/acting suspicious and violent?
3. Are they allowed to take pictures whenever they like and then delete them later? Who will supervise and ensure that they will delete later?
4. Will there be any disciplinary action taken against them?,” she wrote.
The police confirmed to TODAY that a report was filed and an investigation is ongoing.
On Facebook, the HDB said on Thursday (Mar 17) that three SDAs had been on patrol on Mar 8, and had been “taking some pictures for routine reporting purposes, when they encountered two members of the public. An altercation arose, and our safe distancing ambassadors have since made police reports”.
HDB added that SDAs wear their passes in order to identify themselves while carrying out their duties, adding that it is unable to comment further regarding the incident and urging “the public to refrain from speculating on the incident pending these investigations”.
/TISG
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