SINGAPORE - A 30-year-old man who disrupted presidential candidate Ng Kok Song’s walkabout in Clementi Central on Tuesday evening has been taken to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), after he went to the police on his own to lodge a report about the incident.
In a statement, the police said they received calls for help at about 7.05pm on Tuesday regarding a man who had allegedly shouted at Mr Ng outside a shopping mall along Commonwealth Avenue West.
The man had already left the area when police officers arrived. Officers from Clementi Police Division later established his identity and searched for him, said the police on Wednesday.
Around the same time, the man went to Clementi Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) on his own to lodge a report about the incident at about 7.45pm, the police said. “During the engagement at the NPC, the man mentioned harming himself, and the officers assessed that he posed a danger to himself,” said the police.
He was apprehended and sent to IMH, and his next of kin was informed.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Ng and his campaign team had been at the fountain area behind Clementi MRT station, where people lined up to take pictures with him and get his autograph.
At around 7pm, the man rode a bicycle into the crowd and approached Mr Ng’s team, shouting vulgarities and gesturing. At one point, he yelled at Mr Ng to “go home”.
Mr Ng’s brother Charles and another member of the team asked the man to calm down, and Mr Ng was escorted away.
Cycling towards Clementi Mall, the man appeared agitated and raised a fist at bystanders. He also shouted presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian’s name a few times before he rode off.
The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes. Mr Ng’s media team later said in a statement that the candidate was unhurt.
Two police officers arrived at the scene, taking statements from Mr Ng’s team, including his brother, and stall vendors in the vicinity. The media team said a member of the public had filed a police report.
On Tuesday night, Mr Tan’s team released a statement requesting that all his supporters behave in a respectful manner towards all candidates and members of the public.
In a separate statement issued after midnight, Mr Tan said: “I was not aware of this incident. Ng Kok Song should make a police report. From the photo, the person is not among our regular supporters.”
