Singapore — The Singapore Police Force issued another statement on Monday (Jul 5) debunking the claims of a man who said he had been mistreated while under arrest.
This time, the Police are saying that the man contradicted what he said during the course of investigations.
See Kian Beng had said that he was unaware that he had failed the breathalyser test when he was first arrested at a roadblock on Feb 14, 2020. However, the Police said that See himself had acknowledged this at the time of his arrest.
See’s story came to light on Jun 28 after he was interviewed by The Online Citizen Asia. He claimed in the interview that he was abused by the police after he was arrested for drink-driving.
He admitted to having had “a glass or two of beer” with friends on the evening of his arrest but said his breathalyser test had been inconclusive.
See claimed to have suffered both physically and mentally from the police’s mistreatment, had filed complaints about the alleged abuse, and even appealed to Jalan Besar MP, Heng Chee How as well as Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam for help.
See said he was thrown into a padded cell despite telling the police he’s claustrophobic and was manhandled by 6-8 officers, pinned to the ground by an officer using his elbow, and that his feet were stepped on.
He added that he was kept in the cell for over three hours, was not allowed to use the toilet, and therefore relieved himself in one corner of the cell, suffered from the cold in the room, and was not given anything to eat or drink.
However, the police said that See had given “a misleading impression, because he has not set out the full facts.”
They explained that he had failed his initial breathalyser test, but passed another test administered later.
It was because of failing the first breathalyser test that he was legally arrested and “processed in accordance with the rules for persons arrested and brought into Police custody.”
The Police issued its most recent statement in response to See’s claims of not being aware of the failed initial breathalyser tests, as well as media inquiries concerning this.
The SPF repeated that See had indeed failed his first test, otherwise there would have been no reason to arrest him, and that he passed another test later on.
“It is possible for a person who fails the initial breath analyser test during checks at the roadblock to subsequently pass the BEA machine test at the Police lock-up. This is because the body will process the alcohol in a person’s bloodstream over time. The benefit of the doubt is given to the person should he pass the BEA machine test,” the Police wrote.
But he was aware that he had failed the first test, SPF added.
“See’s claims that he was not told that he had failed the initial breath analyser test at the roadblock, is contrary to the accounts that he had given to the Police in the course of investigations. He had acknowledged that he had ‘failed’ his breath analyser test at the roadblock, and hence had to be brought to the lock-up for a further test.”
The Police further said that See had not declared that he had claustrophobia when he was examined by the Nursing Officer and was therefore declared fit to be detained.
He was held “in a Temporary Holding Area (THA) that is about 30 square metres in size, which is about half the floor area of a typical HDB 3-room flat, with a ceiling height of more than 5 metres, which is about twice that of most flats.”
The Police also said it had sought to contact See, but that he “refused our offer to arrange a further interview with him.” /TISG
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