Coronavirus: Police probing cases of officials and ambassadors being abused
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The man who slapped an officer consuming food at a hawker centre in Circuit Road on April 15, 2020.
PHOTO: MEWR
Tiffany Fumiko Tay, Cheryl Tan
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Slaps, punches, vulgarities and even a headbutt.
These are among the kinds of abuse that enforcement officers and SG Clean and safe distancing ambassadors have endured from people who refuse to comply with safe distancing measures.
The police said they have seen a rise in the number of abuse cases against the 3,000 officers and ambassadors deployed across the island daily to ensure individuals and businesses comply with circuit breaker rules.
As of Thursday, the police have received 12 reports of physical or verbal abuse against them, they said yesterday in a joint statement with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
In a case on Wednesday, a 40-year-old man headbutted an enforcement officer who advised him to stop playing basketball in the cordoned-off Khatib multipurpose hall.
In another incident, a 72-year-old man slapped an officer who asked for his personal particulars after seeing him consume food at a hawker centre in Circuit Road.
Investigations against the offenders are ongoing and, if convicted, they face a number of penalties. They can be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to 12 months, or both, for using abusive language on a public servant.
The offence of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty carries a jail term of up to seven years, a fine or caning.
And using criminal force to deter a public servant from doing his duty is punishable with a jail term of up to four years, a fine or both.
The police advise people to carry their identity cards with them when they leave home. It is an offence not to furnish one's personal particulars and residential address when asked by an enforcement officer, they added.
Meanwhile, officers and ambassadors yesterday found about 100 people did not wear masks while outdoors, and more than 150 dined in at food and beverage places, loitered in public spaces and failed to comply with other safe distancing measures.
Each of them can be fined at least $300.
A total of 28 employers have also run afoul of the law and were fined $1,000 each for failing to comply with safe distancing measures for workers ferried by lorries.
From yesterday, transport companies and lorry drivers will also be fined for the same offence.
The 28 employers were caught after their lorries were stopped and checked in an islandwide multi-agency enforcement operation by the Manpower Ministry, the Land Transport Authority and the Traffic Police that started on Monday.
Another four employers were being investigated.
Workers must maintain a safe distance of 1m from one another while seated.
During an enforcement operation The Straits Times observed on Tuesday, holding areas were set up in places like Jurong to check lorries ferrying workers.
In these holding areas, the Manpower Ministry's officers used measuring tape to confirm if the vehicles were in violation of the 1m rule.
Those guilty had to adjust the seating capacity on the spot, requiring some workers to disembark.
An employer who contravenes the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 faces a fine of up to $10,000 or a jail term of up to six months, or both. The penalties are doubled for repeat offenders.
