SINGAPORE - Eight people were charged on Wednesday (Nov 29) with offences including assaulting, verbally abusing and using criminal force on police officers.

The group is made up of six men - Muhamad Yahya Yatim, 21, Jeremy Lee Yi Long, 22, Zhu Hongyan, 35, Yu Changhai, 43, Desmond Choo Choon Piu, also 43, and Lee Kun Chuen, 66; and two women - Cheryl Sng Yu Qin, 33 and Amorti, 42, who goes by only one name.

They are accused of committing their offences between January and October.

Zhu, a Chinese national, is said to have assaulted the most number of police officers.

He allegedly behaved in a disorderly manner by shouting at the top of his voice near Block 106, Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, at around 2am on Jan 28.

He purportedly caused hurt to three policemen when they arrived at the scene.

He is said to have kicked Sergeant Muhammad Faris Rosli in the chest and pushed Sergeant Tan Han Rong's shoulders about 15 minutes later.

Zhu also allegedly hurled vulgarities at Sergeant Tan when the policeman was arresting him.

At around 2.25am, the Chinese national purportedly kicked Sergeant Tan's jaw once before headbutting Sergeant Marcus Loo Hui Long.

Sng faces the most number of charges - eight - and is accused of four counts of using abusive words on police officers and one count of obstructing a policeman from carrying out his duties. She was also charged with three counts of assaulting two civilians.

The Singaporean allegedly kicked and hit the pair in a flat on the ninth storey of Block 200, Toa Payoh North, between 6pm and 7.15pm on May 11.

She purportedly abused four police officers with obscene language when they arrived later at the scene.

Sng is also accused of tearing up a written statement which one of them, Staff Sergeant Gerald Ng Yong Sheng, had recorded from one of her civilian alleged victims.

Most of the eight people charged on Wednesday will be back in court next month.

The police said in a statement on Tuesday that they take a serious view against people who obstruct officers from carrying out their duties.

In September, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that cases of abuse against Home Team officers have been on the rise.

He highlighted that attacks on them had increased more than 65 per cent between 2014 and last year. There were 484 cases last year, which amounted to more than one case of physical or verbal abuse each day.

Mr Shanmugam added that the Ministry of Home Affairs was working with the Attorney-General's Chambers to press for harsher deterrent sentences for those who obstruct officers, particularly if they are violent, from carrying out their duties.

Offenders convicted of assaulting police officers can be jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned for each charge.