Singapore — A senior security officer who tried to stop a BMW cutting into a taxi lane at a mall was assaulted by the driver., and ended up with a fractured palm and and an injured back.
The Union of Security Employees (USE) said in a Feb 16 Facebook post that the guard made a police report, according to TODAY, which said the assault happened on Nov 6, 2021. The union said:
“SSO (senior security officer) P was deployed at the drop-off point of a mall when a BMW car attempted to cut into the taxi lane illegally. When SSO P stopped the car, the driver of the BMW allegedly alighted and assaulted him. The driver then drove off.
SSO P suffered a fracture on his palm and hurt his lower back. He has filed a police report and investigations are ongoing. USE is assisting SSO P on this and have also provided quick relief funds to him,” the USE post said.
TODAY said it has seen a copy of the police report. It said that according to the report, the driver of the BMW nearly knocked the guard over before he got down from the car. The driver also allegedly pushed the guard until he fell.
USE’s post also drew attention to the result of a recent survey of security officers it conducted with the Singapore University of Social Sciences which found that 39 per cent reported facing abuse at work, mostly from the general public.
When the Private Security Industry Act (PSIA) was amended last year to better protect security officers, the maximum penalty for voluntarily causing hurt to these officers was increased to a $10,000 fine and five years’ jail.
Citing the police report of the Nov 6 incident, TODAY wrote that the guard, who had worked as a senior security officer at the mall for about five years, was directing traffic around the taxi stand there when the BMW cut across the traffic lanes against the guard’s instructions and, nearly knocked him over.
The driver got out of the car and walked “aggressively” toward the guard and pushed him until he fell. When the guard said he would call the police, the BMW driver fled the scene.
Something similar happened last month when the driver of a Bentley used his car to push against a security officer at Red Swastika School in Bedok North Avenue 3. A video of the officer trying to stop the car from entering the school because it did not have a valid car label, was widely circulated on social media.
/TISG