'He scolded me but I didn't know what he was saying': Man assaults security officer at Bukit Batok condominium

SINGAPORE - The police are investigating a 45-year-old man for allegedly assaulting a security officer at a condominium in Bukit Batok on Monday morning (Aug 29).

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the police said they were alerted to the incident in Bukit Batok Street 41 at about 12.40am, and the man is being investigated for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt.

Security officer Afinde Mohamad, 55, said he was making the rounds with a fellow officer past midnight when a stranger allegedly attacked him after he entered the lift on the ground floor.

"He scolded me but I didn't know what he was saying," said Mr Afinde, adding that the man appeared to be drunk and "not normal".

In closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage seen by ST, the man gesticulates and speaks to Mr Afinde before grabbing his head and shoving him.

As Mr Afinde attempts to fend off the blows, the attacker is seen slapping him.

Another CCTV clip shows the security officers leaving the lift when it arrives on the third floor. The attacker then exits the lift, slaps Mr Afinde, grabs him by the neck and pushes him again.

"I still feel pain in my back and head. But it's better now after taking painkillers. This is the first time I've been attacked on the job," said Mr Afinde, who has been a security officer for about five years.

He was given three days of sick leave.

Mr Eric Goh, senior manager of operations at Formteam Consultancy where Mr Afinde is employed, said the company will help take care of his needs and salary while he recovers.

Mr Goh said Mr Afinde is a very efficient officer, and that he has not received any complaints about Mr Afinde over the past few years.

By the time police arrived at the scene, the assailant had disappeared, said Union of Security Employees (USE) executive secretary Steve Tan, noting that the man is believed to be a resident.

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In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Aug 30), USE said it has filed a police report against the assailant.

It has also given some vouchers to Mr Afinde, who is its member.

USE has handled 25 cases of abuse involving security staff so far this year, up from nine cases for the whole of last year, said Mr Tan.

He said he is concerned about the growing number of such cases.

"Cases like these are really unnecessary, unprovoked, and something that we find quite abhorrent," he added.

USE said in its Facebook post: "Our officers carry out important duties as provided for under the law. We seek the support from the public to help ensure a safe environment for them to work in. We urge anyone who spots abuse of our officers to report them to us through our mobile app or e-mail use@ntuc.org.sg."

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