Condo resident who verbally abused security supervisor apologises to him

Security industry representatives present at meeting with contrite resident

Senior security supervisor Steven Heng (left) with Association Of Certified Security Agencies honorary secretary Gary Haris (third from left) and Security Association of Singapore president Raj Joshua Thomas (fourth from left) before meeting the resi
Senior security supervisor Steven Heng (left) with Association Of Certified Security Agencies honorary secretary Gary Haris (third from left) and Security Association of Singapore president Raj Joshua Thomas (fourth from left) before meeting the resident at Eight Riversuites condominium last evening. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

The condominium resident who verbally abused a security officer has "apologised many times" to him during a private, hour-long meeting yesterday evening.

The Eight Riversuites resident, Mr Erramalli Ramesh, was very remorseful when he met senior security supervisor Steven Heng, said a security industry association leader present at the meeting.

In a Facebook post, honorary secretary of the Association Of Certified Security Agencies Gary Haris added that Mr Erramalli had known Mr Heng "quite well" and always addressed him as "Uncle Steven".

The two have also chatted before when they bumped into each other around the condominium, he said.

The Straits Times observed Mr Heng meeting industry association leaders at around 7.45pm yesterday at the condo's guard post. They then headed up in the lift to meet Mr Erramalli.

Mr Haris made his Facebook post shortly after the meeting to say both parties have buried the hatchet.

The saga, which blew up over the Deepavali weekend, stemmed from a viral video that showed Mr Erramalli swearing at Mr Heng after being told that he needed to pay a $10 fee for guests parking at the condo after 11pm.

Mr Erramalli's guest had come over at about 10.30pm for Deepavali festivities.

The video of the incident made the rounds online, and sparked outrage among netizens. Some dug up personal information about Mr Erramalli, and an online petition calling for his company, JP Morgan, to fire him was launched.

Netizens also criticised Mr Erramalli for being rude to security officers, and the incident sparked many comments about foreigners and foreign talent in Singapore.

In response to queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Mr Erramalli is married to a Singaporean who was born here, and obtained citizenship on the sponsorship of his wife under the Family Ties scheme.

Both Mr Erramalli and Mr Heng had filed separate police reports following the incident.

The MHA spokesman said the police are investigating a report that was lodged against Mr Erramalli, 44, for an offence of intentionally causing harassment to a security officer deployed at Eight Riversuites condominium.

"The police take a stern view towards any abusive behaviour against security officers who are carrying out their duties," said the spokesman.

In his Facebook post last evening, Mr Haris said he hopes more will be done to raise awareness of the estate rules and by-laws, so front-line security personnel will not be put in the difficult position of enforcing rules that residents might not be aware of.

Providing more details of the private meeting, he wrote: "Mr Erramalli acknowledged that (Mr Heng) was a very humble and good security supervisor and he did not mean to hurt or harm him in any way. He was worked up over the MCST (Management Corporation Strata Title) rule of collecting $10 parking fees for the overnight parking."

Mr Heng has forgiven Mr Erramalli wholeheartedly and thanked him for apologising in person, Mr Haris added.

He said Mr Heng also urged everyone "to forgive Mr Erramalli and forget this unfortunate incident".

• Additional reporting by Prisca Ang

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 31, 2019, with the headline Condo resident who verbally abused security supervisor apologises to him. Subscribe