4 teens nabbed over bicycle abuse case in Punggol

Youth throwing ofo bike into canal and riding inside MRT station.

The police have nabbed four youths believed to have been involved in a case of bicycle abuse in Punggol last Friday.

The teenagers, aged from 16 to 18, were arrested for committing a rash act and public nuisance, police said yesterday.

They received a report of a man throwing a bicycle into a canal and riding another at the Punggol MRT station. A Snapchat clip of the incident shows a shirtless man hurling a rental bicycle from bike-sharing firm oBike into a canal. He was then filmed riding around the MRT station and near Punggol Temporary Bus Interchange on an ofo bike.

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division carried out extensive ground inquiries and established the identities of the four suspects, who were arrested in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9 on Monday.

If convicted of committing a rash act, they can be jailed up to six months and/or fined up to $2,500.

If convicted of public nuisance, the penalty is a fine of up to $1,000.

The incident is the latest in a string of bike abuse cases reported since three bike-sharing firms - oBike, ofo and Mobike - started operations in Singapore early this year.

Last week, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for throwing an ofo bike from the 30th floor of a Housing Board block in Whampoa.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 21, 2017, with the headline 4 teens nabbed over bicycle abuse case in Punggol. Subscribe