Singapore – On Sunday, March 3, an incident was reported by The Straits Times (ST) involving a man who allegedly kicked another while walking their dogs at Telok Kurau Park. The accused was identified as an ex-grassroots leader.
The story went as follows: Joseph Wee, 59, was walking his Belgian Shepherd named Nero at the park on December 27, 2018, when suddenly a black Chow Chow bit his dog’s tail. The dog was neither leashed nor muzzled which is the common practice for dog walkers.
On instinct, Wee defended himself and his dog by swinging the end of his leash to try and scare the attacking Chow Chow away, when he felt an unexpected blow to his back causing him to fall to the ground.
According to Wee, there were around 40 residents who witnessed the scene and that it was a man known as Neo, the alleged Chow Chow owner, who kicked him.
Wee told ST that the alleged assault was unprovoked and uncalled for. “I asked him what he was doing. He was aggressive and dancing like Bruce Lee, ready for a fight,” he said. Wee recalled that Neo even challenged bystanders who were trying to help him into a fight.
He suffered fractures to his tailbone, cuts on his left hand and right elbow as well as bruises on his knees because of the incident. Wee shared that he had to take a month off from work and could not attend his cardiac rehabilitation sessions needed after the double heart bypass he recently had.
Apparently, Neo promised to pay for his medical bills, but the number he was given was always busy.
Neo unapologetic
On February 27, 2019, Neo was spotted at the same park by ST. When questioned about the incident, Neo claimed that he did not kick Wee and that he was only running too fast and just intended to “nudge” the man. He added that he couldn’t find the elderly man because his domestic helpers did not know where he lived and said that the police “had settled” the matter.
Wee, who walks his dog daily at the park, was a mere 100m away while the paper was questioning Neo. After pointing Neo to the direction of Wee, the former responded with, “I would love to apologise. But sometimes, apologising is too embarrassing.”
It turns out that Neo was out on bail for other offences on the day of the incident.
Police investigations are currently ongoing.
Digging into Neo’s background
Leave it to social media and the CSI-like skills of netizens to discover more about Neo. HardwareZone forum members spared no time in tracking Neo, whose full name on Facebook was Roland Neo. His Linkedin information stated that he was the treasurer at “Northwest District/ Bukit Panjang CC/ Bukit Panjang PAP” from 2009. The People’s Association confirmed that he was indeed a grassroots leader but had left his post in 2017.
The online community aired their concerns about the unacceptable behaviour grassroots leaders and members were portraying.
Below is another story on a homeowner’s struggle with her RC leaders:
https://theindependent.sg.sg/are-members-of-the-residents-committee-above-the-law-woman-questions-her-incorrigible-neighbours/