No charges filed over Chua Chu Kang walkabout incident, PSP ‘disappointed’ by lack of explanation on outcome
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Volunteers from the PSP and PAP had been on walkabouts on Jan 4 when they ran into each other, resulting in an altercation.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM AZMAN IBRAHIM/FACEBOOK
Follow topic:
- Police will not file charges over the January 4 Bukit Gombak incident between PAP and PSP volunteers, where both sides alleged harassment.
- PSP is disappointed that the police and Attorney-General's Chambers will not release a report, leaving questions about the incident unanswered.
- Volunteers clashed during walkabout; PAP alleged physical violence from PSP, while PSP claimed harassment and intimidation from PAP volunteers.
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SINGAPORE – No charges will be filed over an incident involving volunteers from the PAP and PSP during a walkabout in Bukit Gombak, where both sides had alleged harassment from the other.
In a statement on Aug 29, the Progress Singapore Party said four of its members involved in the Jan 4 incident
It was also told that the authorities would not be issuing a public statement on the outcome of the investigation, or their reasons for not filing charges.
In response to queries, the police confirmed that they had concluded investigations into the case.
The police said in its statement that in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), they had assessed that no criminal offence happened during the incident. This was after completing investigations and considering the facts and circumstances, it said.
The statement added: “The police have advised all volunteers to be mindful of their behaviour in public, and to conduct themselves appropriately, as they engage in their activities.”
PSP said it was disappointed that neither the police nor the AGC has chosen to release a full report on the investigation’s outcomes. It noted that this concludes an eight-month investigation, a period that covered the 2025 General Election.
The opposition party said it accepted the conclusions made by the Singapore Police Force and the AGC and thanked the agencies for their efforts, but that closing the case without providing a public report left many unanswered questions.
These include whether PSP volunteers had engaged in physical violence, and whether PAP volunteers had engaged in harassment or intimidating behaviour, it said.
“A cloud is left hanging over all of the individuals involved if such questions are not fully dealt with,” said the party.
“Unnecessary doubts are also cast on their reputations. It would be disappointing if this incident causes a chilling effect on Singaporeans who want to step forward and serve Singapore by volunteering for the opposition.”
Volunteers from both political parties had been on walkabouts engaging residents in Bukit Batok when they ran into each other, resulting in an altercation.
Clips from the incident were recorded and went viral on social media, and a PSP volunteer filed a police report.
Each side alleged harassment by the other and offered a different account of what happened.
PSP candidate S. Nallakaruppan said that PAP volunteers had started following his party’s Chua Chu Kang team during PSP’s block visits at Goodview Gardens in Bukit Gombak, which was then Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Low Yen Ling’s ward under the old electoral boundaries.
In a separate Facebook post, Ms Low said one man from PSP intimidated a PAP volunteer and slapped his face twice, and that the PSP man also taunted a second PAP volunteer, among other hostile acts from the PSP group.
Ms Low, who is Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth, said: “It is clear that PSP has twisted the truth and has given an untrue picture of what happened.”
She said: “We look forward to a full police investigation, and for the whole truth to become public. That way, the public can know what actually happened.”
Other politicians who had weighed in on the incident on social media included then PSP chairman Tan Cheng Bock
During the hustings before the May general election, the PSP called for the investigation’s results to be released to the public before the polls so “voters can decide on who is right”.
