SINGAPORE: The normally quiet political scene was disrupted recently after members of different parties accused each other of harassment.
On Jan 4, Progress Singapore Party’s S Nallakaruppan wrote in a Facebook post that members of the ruling party had demonstrated “unprofessional behaviour” during block visits that day at Goodview Gardens at Bukit Gombak, Choa Chu Kang GRC. His post went on to be widely commented on and shared.
However, PAP MP Low Yen Ling, who has been representing Bukit Gombak since 2011, told a very different story in a Facebook post of her own on Wednesday (Jan 8). Ms Low wrote that she had heard from the PAP volunteers who were present during the incident. They told her that the account published by Mr Nallakaruppan was untrue and that two male volunteers had been “physically manhandled” by the PSP team. Moreover, the female volunteers whose pictures were posted in the PSP member’s Facebook post have become victims of doxxing, the act of revealing a person’s information online without their consent.
What PSP is saying
Mr Nallakaruppan, who had contested under the PSP in the 2020 General Election, wrote in his post that while the team was carrying out its Jan 4 activity at Bukit Gombak, they noticed that PAP members were following them “closely”. When they were asked not to do so, he claimed they refused. He added that when the PSP team engaged with residents, the PAP volunteers would also hand out flyers.
He also alleged that the PAP volunteers took pictures of the PSP team while they held their debrief and followed them to the car park to take photos of their cars. Mr Nallakaruppan said he told them to stop, otherwise they would be reported to the police for stalking and harassment.
Low Yen Ling’s account:
Ms Low’s version of events, based on what the volunteers told her, is completely different. She wrote that while PAP volunteers were at Goodview Gardens to share information about the developments in the area, female PAP volunteers encountered male PSP members. When a male PAP volunteer exited a lift to join the team, he was allegedly held back by a PSP member. She added that this male volunteer was also reportedly slapped by male PSP members and called derogatory terms.
Another PAP male volunteer was also said to have been confronted by male PSP members, an incident he recorded on his phone. The PSP members also allegedly pulled his shirt so that they could “forcibly take a wefie and video with him”.
As for the female PAP volunteers, when their movements were allegedly recorded by the PSP team, they “also responded to do likewise”. Later that afternoon, the PSP members reportedly shouted at the PAP team and took a picture of them, which was published online, resulting in the doxxing of the PAP volunteers. Some of them are receiving “counselling and extra care to protect them from such online harm”.
Ms Low added that she and the PAP volunteers had first considered filing a police report but decided against it, and added that she hoped the opposition party would not repeat their actions.
“We now see that despite the conduct above, it is PSP which has chosen to make allegations and file a police report. We look forward to a full police investigation, and for the whole truth to become public. That way, the public can know what actually happened. We are also providing assistance to our female volunteers who have been doxxed,” she added. /TISG