SINGAPORE: In another case of abuse against security guards in 2023 alone, a security officer working at the WCEGA Plaza this week was mistreated for doing his job.
According to the Union of Security Employees (USE), Mr Michael was instructed by the complex manager at WCEGA Plaza to wheel clamp two vehicles blocking the fire escape route.
The owner of one of the vehicles that were wheel-clamped is a tenant renting one of the shops at the plaza. Frustrated, the tenant allegedly spoke aggressively to the complex manager and demanded the release of the wheel clamps. He then attempted to snatch away Mr Michael’s phone when he tried to record the incident.
USE said in a statement on Facebook, today (14 Apr): “We are glad that Brother Michael was not physically hurt or injured. USE strongly condemns any act of violence or abuse of our security officers.”
Over 40 per cent of a sample of 1,002 security officers reported experiencing verbal or physical abuse at work, according to an earlier study by USE and SUSS’s Centre for Applied Research.
The latest incident at WCEGA Plaza comes just over a week after two other security officers working at a Sin Ming condominium faced aggressive verbal abuse for wheel-clamping a resident’s vehicle. Revealing that they would help the officer report the matter to the police, USE said:
“Senior Security Supervisor Lydia and operations manager Derrick were merely executing their tasks, which included enforcing the by-laws with respect to illegal parking. What the abuser did was unwarranted, and the personal insults were hurtful and shocking.”
In its latest statement, USE noted that security officers perform their tasks as provided by the Private Security Industry Act (PSIA), which was enhanced last year to provide greater protection to security officers.
Asserting that officers must not be abused when performing their duties, USE called on members of the public to ensure a safe work environment for all officers.