Teen admits assaulting cop, fracturing officer’s nose

SINGAPORE – A teenager who was fighting with his father ended up punching and fracturing the nose of a policeman after the officer arrived at the scene in response to a call.

On July 1, the 19-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to a public servant. He also pleaded guilty to one count of sending a girl’s topless picture to another person without her consent in a separate incident.

The offender cannot be named as he was 17 years old when he committed the offence involving the picture. Individuals below 18 are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Xavier Tan told the court that the teenager and his father had both consumed alcohol shortly before the fight broke out on June 5, 2024.

At around 3pm, the teenager fell asleep in his room of their Tampines flat, and when he woke up about six hours later, he found that his father had made a mess in the flat.

A scuffle broke out then between the pair.

The offender’s mother and two sisters who were present tried to get the offender to calm down.

One of his sisters also made a police report, stating that her brother and her father were hitting each other with belts, hangers and sticks.

After two policemen arrived at the scene, they also tried to calm down the offender. When he remained aggressive, one of the officers drew his taser.

The teenager then followed his father into a room and the two officers tried to pull him back.

Despite this, the offender managed to grab his father and a scuffle broke out.

The teenager punched one of the officers in the face.

The other policeman shot the taser at the offender, who was arrested soon after.

The injured officer went to Changi General Hospital the next day, where he was found to have a fractured nose and was given seven days of medical leave.

In an unrelated case, DPP Tan said that in July 2022, the teenager got to know a girl, who was around 15 years old, over photo-sharing platform Snapchat.

After chatting for about two days, he asked her to send him nude photographs, and she complied.

In late 2023, the offender sent the girl’s topless picture to another person who had asked him for photographs of women in the nude.

Court documents did not state how this offence came to light, but the offender was later charged in court in 2024.

On July 1, the court called for reports to assess his suitability for both probation and reformative training.

Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.

The teenager is expected to be sentenced in August.