Man says he never meant to cause upskirt video accused's death

One of the five members of the public involved in subduing a 46-year-old man who allegedly took upskirt videos of a woman has said he never meant to cause his death.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, the man, who declined to be named, said he had chased the 46-year-old man for about 500m after witnessing him filming the woman at Little India MRT station.

He then managed to pin the man down in Niven Road with the help of four others.

He told Shin Min that he released his grip when the 46-year-old began vomiting and that he did not choke the man to death.

Police said they were alerted to the incident at 12.45pm last Friday.

The 46-year-old was already motionless and had no pulse when officers arrived on the scene, the police said. He was later pronounced dead by a paramedic.

In its report published yesterday, Shin Min reported the man as saying he was unable to sleep for two nights after the incident because of the psychological stress.

He claimed that he was physically smaller than the 46-year-old man, and that he was pushed aside during the struggle and even sprained his ankle. "We were only carrying out our civic duty, and only wanted to wait for the police to arrive," he said.

The evening daily reported that another man, who also helped to subdue the 46-year-old, broke down when interviewed by the police.

Ms Diana Ngiam, associate director at law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer, said that in such cases, an autopsy is usually done to determine the cause of death. If it still remains unclear, a coroner's inquiry could be held.

"The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will usually decide after the State Coroner has made his findings as to whether to prosecute any of the five involved-if there is evidence that the actions of any of the five are related to the man's death," Ms Ngiam said.

The AGC will have to consider the intention of the individuals in deciding whether to prosecute, she said, adding that the full facts will be carefully considered before any decision is made.

Mr Amolat Singh of Amolat & Partners said the incident serves as a lesson to be careful to not use excessive force in making a citizen's arrest. It will be difficult to determine the exact role played by each individual, he added.

The case has been classified as an unnatural death and police are investigating.