A 28-year-old wanted by the police was arrested on Friday, but only after a public altercation in Esplanade Drive where he managed to wrangle free of the officers after being tasered, and sparked a chase.

Police said officers had noticed the man, who had an outstanding warrant of arrest, walking around "aimlessly and in a dangerous manner" in Esplanade Drive at around 10.30am on Friday.

When officers approached him, the man was "uncooperative and incoherent", police said in a statement on Friday evening.

Officers attempted to get him off the road and onto the pavement for his own safety, but he became belligerent and resisted the attempts to pull him to safety, police said. He continued to be aggressive, despite repeated reminders to comply with the officers' instructions, and charged at one of them, police added.

An officer used a taser to subdue the man, who fell to the ground and clutched his chest. But in a video shot from an office window across the road, he is seen recovering within seconds and getting to his feet.

He then shook off several policemen who attempted to grab hold of him, appearing to strike at least one across the face before making a run for it. The officers gave chase as he weaved his way through the vehicles on the road.

Police said the man was eventually subdued when a second round of the taser was deployed.

By then, he had assaulted and injured two officers, police added. He was arrested for disorderly behaviour, voluntarily causing hurt to public servants and alleged consumption of controlled drugs, police said. It is not stated what his outstanding warrant of arrest was for.

The video footage of the incident was widely viewed, chalking up more than 100,000 views on the Facebook page of road safety community Beh Chia Lor - Singapore Road by Friday evening.

Netizens had mixed reactions to the clip, with some criticising the police for not better subduing the man. Others said they were glad the officers exercised restraint and did not use excessive force on him.

In their statement, police said they "take into consideration the proportionality of the force to be applied vis-a-vis the perceived threat", in considering the use of force.