‘Shocking that someone tased us’: 2 cops injured with stun device, suspect faces 13 charges

SINGAPORE - A man allegedly injured two Traffic Police officers with a stun device while trying to evade arrest on Sunday, resulting in one of the officers being taken to hospital.

Muhammed Firdaus Amir Musa, 38, was arrested for attacking the officers at about 2.50am.

He was hauled to court on Monday and handed a total of 13 charges.

Of these, six were for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, five for weapons possession, one for possessing a stun device, and one for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

According to court documents, Muhammed Firdaus had allegedly used the stun device on the back of one officer four times within a span of 10 minutes and later, on another officer’s finger and shin.

One of the officers involved spoke to the media during a press conference on Monday.

Staff Sergeant Khairulanwar Abd Kahar, 32, suffered back injuries and numbness in his lower limbs and was taken to hospital. He was discharged and given four days of medical leave.

Sergeant Muhammad Afiq Yahya, 29, suffered pain in his left hand and leg. Both officers did not sustain permanent injuries.

The two officers were patrolling Victoria Street in their vehicle when they spotted a speeding car, the police said at the press conference.

The officers signalled the driver to pull over but he stopped in the second lane of the three-lane road instead.

When the officers asked for his identification and driving licence, he gave them only his NRIC.

As his car was obstructing traffic, they told him to move it to the side of the road for further checks.

The driver moved his car to the third lane of the road near the junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan.

Suddenly, he dashed out of his car and fled, clutching his belongings, including a black object that looked like the handle of a weapon.

The officers gave chase and stopped him in a back alley near Jalan Klapa.

During a struggle between the man and the officers, a samurai sword with a black handle fell on the ground.

He then brandished a stun device and allegedly tased the officers repeatedly.

The black retangular stun device resembled a flashlight and emitted electricity from two prongs.

Describing the attack, Sgt Afiq said: “It was just shocking that someone had tased us. I had no choice but to hold on to him because if we let him go, we might not be able to catch him after that.”

An off-duty full-time Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) national serviceman, Private Mohammed Akbar Madarsa Mohamed Sultan, 22, who was in the area, saw the commotion and rushed to help the officers.

Despite their injuries, the officers managed to subdue and arrest the man with the help of Pte Akbar.

The police said they seized several weapons and various drug paraphernalia. They said that controlled drugs, including 236g of Ice, 11g of heroin, as well as Ecstasy and other drugs, were found on the suspect.

According to preliminary investigations, the man said he bought the stun device online several months ago but did not say why he bought it, said the police.

Pte Akbar received the Public Spiritedness Award at the press conference for helping to detain the suspect.

He said: “When I saw the police officers grappling with the aggressive suspect, I felt a strong sense of duty to help.”

Commander of Central Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jeremy Ang, said: “The police will not tolerate any form of violence against officers who are carrying out their duties, especially if it involves the use of weapons.

“Those who commit such acts of violence will be dealt with severely.”

Muhammed Firdaus appeared in court on Monday via video link. He was dressed in black and appeared to be limping. Several plasters were seen on his arms.

According to court documents, he was found with a stun device, two knuckle dusters, a sword, a chopper and a serrated knife.

He is also alleged to have had in his possession 16 packets containing 236.81g of crystalline substance believed to be the drug methamphetamine.

The prosecutor had asked the court for Muhammed Firdaus to be remanded further so they could trace the source of the drugs.

The case is expected to be heard again on Nov 6.

If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, he may be fined, caned and jailed for up to seven years for each charge.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Carousell both said they take a serious and zero-tolerance view on sellers trying to list prohibited items on their platforms.

A Carousell spokeswoman said it uses a combination of manual and automated moderation to detect and identify prohibited items which could cause grievous harm, such as tasers, if they are listed on its platform.

She said: “Users are encouraged to report any suspicious listings to us and have the option to do so directly through the ‘Report Listing’ feature that’s available on both the web and the app.

“Listings that do not comply with the listing rules will be removed from our platform... and users who violate these rules may also be subject to a range of enforcement actions, from restrictions to a permanent suspension.”