A lorry crashed into a police car that was entering a carpark on Pasir Panjang Road on Tuesday.
The impact caused the police vehicle to slam into an electronic gantry at the carpark.
The police said the incident happened at about 3.30pm. Two officers who were in the car suffered minor injuries. They were taken to Alexandra Hospital.
The lorry driver was unhurt. Investigations are ongoing.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
The police are investigating a complaint that its officers physically abused a 41-year-old Singaporean man during a spot check it conducted at a nightclub on Friday morning (April 3).
The allegation was first reported by sociopolitical website The Online Citizen (TOC) yesterday. It posted photos of businessman Lim Chin Huat with injuries on his face and a bandaged arm, as well as a 37-second video clip showing officers trying to get a handcuffed Mr Lim into a police car.
In response to TODAY’s queries, the police said they conducted a spot check at a public entertainment outlet located at Bras Basah Road at about 1:15am. Subsequently, a 41-year-old Singaporean man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and police investigations are ongoing.
The police spokesperson also confirmed that a report was lodged, alleging abuse by officers during the arrest. “Investigations into the veracity of the allegations are ongoing,” he added.
In a phone interview today, Mr Lim said he was drinking with a group of business partners at Yang Gui Fei nightclub in Hotel Rendezvous that day when plainclothes police officers entered the outlet and asked for their identification cards.
As the officers’ police identity tags were facing inwards, he asked for their names but could not hear their replies. Subsequently, he tried to flip an officer’s tag but was told that he was not allowed to do so.
Mr Lim said he apologised but the officers pinned him on the ground and handcuffed him, without explaining why he was arrested. He added that the officers also hit his face with their knees and stopped only when his friends told them that he was bleeding.
“It happened too fast, the whole process (took) about 5 to 10 minutes,” said Mr Lim, who runs a logistics and engineering business.
After being admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital that day, Mr Lim said an investigating officer came to take his statement at around noon on Saturday. He also said he suffered from a fractured nose, arm and had bruises near his ear, eyes and head. He was given 10 days of medical leave and will have to return to the hospital for plastic surgery on his nose.
Mr Lim denied that he was drunk, adding that eight of them had shared two towers of beer that night.
The police spokesperson said it takes “a serious view of all complaints made against officers”.
“Such complaints will be thoroughly investigated and if substantiated, the police will not hesitate to take action against any errant officer(s),” he said.
The spokesperson added that appropriate legal action will be taken against any persons who furnish false information, which is punishable with up to one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine not excedding S$5,000.
Source: www.todayonline.com
A Portuguese man who punched and kicked a police officer as he tried to find out where he lived was jailed for a month on Thursday.
Video editor Carlos Eduardo Da-Cruz Ferreira, 34, was drunk and fell asleep in the back of a taxi when the cabby asked police at a road block to enquire where he lived.
After it pulled to the side of Bukit Batok East Avenue 3 last June 21, two cops tried to wake Da-Cruz Ferreira, who reeked of alcohol.
They called out to him but there was no response. Sergeant Mushawwir Adrus, 23, tapped Da-Cruz Ferreira on the shoulder, causing him to wake up briefly. The cops identified themselves and asked where he lived.
Da-Cruz Ferreira responded by punching the policeman in the right eye. Sgt Mushawwir then held his hands and asked where he lived – but was kicked in his lower abdomen. Necessary force was used to remove him from the taxi.
Staff Sgt Mushawwir, whose contact lens was dislodged, needed treatment at Alexandra Hospital.
Urging the court to jail Da-Cruz Ferreira, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana said police officers are on the front line and must know they have the full protection of the law.
“The court must send a consistent signal that violence towards police officers cannot be condoned,” she told District Judge Ng Peng Hong.
Lawyer Shashi Nathan said his client, whose father is a High Court judge in Portugal, had then just gone through a severe and traumatic break-up with his then girlfriend.
He said the one-off incident was triggered by his client’s intoxicated state. He said Da-Cruz Ferreira has voluntarily undergone therapy for his alcohol dependence and was found to be suffering from depressive and anxiety disorders.
Da-Cruz Ferreira, who pleaded guilty, was allowed to defer sentence until April 2 to resolve his personal matters. Another charge of abusing the cop was taken into consideration.
For causing hurt to deter a public servant in carrying out his work, he could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or received any combined sentence.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
The Singapore Police Force has issued a statement on a police report made about PAP activists’ distribution of flyers in Aljunied GRC.
Activists had gone around last week, urging residents to question opposition Workers’ Party Members of Parliament about accounting and governance lapses by Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
In a statement on Thursday (Mar 19), police said: “In consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the police report made on the distribution of flyers at Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, it has been determined that there is no offence disclosed.”
“The distribution of flyers in itself is not an offence in Singapore,” police added.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
Wanted: A gizmo that frees up space on frontline police officers’ equipment-heavy waist belts, as well as serve at least 10 other functions, ranging from juicing up the myriad equipment carried by officers to cooling officers down.
The form this contraption will come in: A vest.
In a tender for a prototype of this “smart vest system” posted last Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said a frontline police officer’s waist belt is now chock-full of equipment — revolver, Taser, bullet pouch, radio set, baton and handcuffs. The bulk gets in the way sometimes, which “greatly restricts (their) ability to execute their duties”, such as when they need to chase or restrain a suspect.
On top of this, a myriad of extra smart devices they will need in their policing, such as a mobile data terminal, smart phone and wearable camera, has no place to go. Not only does this mean equipment loss may become a “major concern”, a way has to be found to keep the various devices juiced up throughout an officer’s 12-hour shift.
The ministry is sourcing for a “smart vest system” that can incorporate solutions to all these problems, and more.
For instance, it wants sensors to be integrated to the holsters for revolvers and Tasers. When either is drawn, a video-camera — such as the body-worn camera that has been issued to some officers — will be triggered to start recording.
These footage will be stored on a centralised system — capable of holding 72 hours’ of information — built in to the vest. This system must also be capable of sensing the officer’s location and body orientation — standing, sitting, laying down.
In addition, data and video streams must be capable of being automatically transmitted in “near real-time” via 3G or LTE network to a “remote control and monitoring station” (RCMS).
Separately, the vest must have a power management system for officers to keep track of which of his body-worn electronic equipment are running low on power, while there should also be a single battery pack that can provide 12 hours’ charging — including wirelessly — for any of his devices.
When any of the equipment issued to an officer goes out of his vicinity, the vest should also sound an alarm to him promptly and transmit the missing equipment’s location to his smart device.
On top of all these, the vest must be able to monitor the wearer’s health conditions. An abnormal heart rate or if the wearer is laying down for a long time will send alarms to the RCMS.
The vest also needs to provide a body cooling system to keep officers’ body temperatures to below 36.9 degree Celsius, and assess the hazards of electromagnetic radiation on their bodies.
In terms of addressing the bulk on officers’ waist belts, the ministry said the vest must keep the centre of mass close to and high up along the officer’s body, and ensure that the strapped-on load is balanced. The vests must also be weatherproof and operable in temperatures between 15 and 40°C and a relative humidity of up to 100 per cent.
According to the tender posted last Friday on government procurement portal GeBiz, prospective suppliers will have up to April 6 to submit applications.
After a proposal is accepted, the supplier has one year to deliver the “smart vest system” and a trial will be conducted for one to five months.
The search for this seemingly all-powerful vest comes amid a wider push by the police to harness technology. During the MHA’s Committee of Supply debate last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said his ministry will “significantly step up” investments in technology to boost its operations and crime-fighting abilities.
In recent years, the police have rolled out several techy crime-busters, including surveillance cameras at HDB blocks and multi-storey carparks, and most recently, body-worn cameras.
Source: www.todayonline.com