Singapore – A 33-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shouting racist remarks and attacking a university student at East Coast Park.
The incident, which happened on Friday morning (Jul 2), left the victim, a Singaporean, with bruises on his face and abdomen, reported The Straits Times.
The student was sent to the Singapore General Hospital for medical treatment, although he was not hospitalised.
The police confirmed having arrested the man for purportedly being a public nuisance.
The victim’s mother revealed that the student was punched and kicked.
She told ST that the man was not provoked yet directed racist remarks at her son and his two friends.
The student had been cycling with a friend at the park but the activity was cut short after one of the bikes got a flat tyre.
They called another friend to give them a ride home.
After they finished loading the bicycles into a van at the park’s carpark, they heard the man making racist remarks at them while standing nearby.
The victim’s mother said that the group chose to stay inside the van to avoid a confrontation, but the man went over to the vehicle to release air from one of the bike’s tyre’s.
The action prodded her son to step out and fix the problem.
It was at this moment that the man allegedly attacked her son.
The incident has also been confirmed by an eyewitness.
The man was charged on Saturday (Jul 3) with the offence of public nuisance.
He will be charged with “a view to seek an order from the court to remand the man for psychiatric assessment,” said the police in a statement.
If found guilty of public nuisance, he can be imprisoned for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.
The man is also being investigated for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment, said the police.
If found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt, he can be imprisoned for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
Meanwhile, the sentence for intentional harassment is imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of S$5,000, or both./TISG
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