Man Fined $3,500 for Hurling Hokkien Vulgarities at Safe-Distancing Officer Who Wasn’t Even Talking to Him

The circuit breaker has brought out the worst in some of us.

Violent gang fights, bloody murder, an HDB attack, and more bloody fights. (All of this happened on Sunday, by the way.)

Staying indoors for an extended period of time has certainly taken a toll on some people who can’t help but take it out on others, even if no one is talking to them.

Man Fined $3,500 for Hurling Hokkien Vulgarities at Safe-Distancing Officer Who Wasn’t Even Talking to Him

A 48-year-old cleaner was fined S$3,500 on today(13 May) for cursing at a safe distancing enforcement officer at Hougang Mall.

Abdul Halim Adi pleaded guilty to one charge of using abusive words on a safe distancing enforcement officer.

So, what happened?

On 14 April, during the circuit breaker period, the safe distancing officer who was deployed at Hougang Mall saw the cleaner’s wife outside the mall.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong said the woman had continued to run her headscarf business outside her home despite the authorities’ orders for all non-essential businesses to close.

While she was waiting to hand a headscarf to a customer, she was spotted by the safe distancing officer and quickly took off when he approached her.

However, the officer saw the woman again 15 minutes later when he entered the mall. He told her to go home, reported CNA.

But of course, she didn’t go home, and went to look for her husband in the mall instead.

She told her husband that the safe distancing officer had been following her and had told her to go home.

In other words, she told him that he was doing his job.

Coincidentally, the safe distancing officer in question walked past the couple at this point, and because the husband was so upset that someone reminded his wife of the laws, he hurled Hokkien vulgarities at the officer and said, “Why did you harass my wife?”

Follow us on Telegram for more informative & easy-to-read articles, or download the Goody Feed app for articles you can’t find on Facebook!

This officer was a little smart, though. Since there were around 10 to 15 passers-by at the time, he didn’t respond to the man’s curses or question; he simply walked away and called the police.

This might have saved Abdul Halim some money and even jail time, because the prosecutor noted that his outburst was “short and impulsive”.

Plus, the 48-year-old cleaner has no previous related convictions, nor was there any evidence of him continuing to be aggressive.

The judge allowed the man to pay his $3,500 fine in instalments by mid-November.

Another Man Jailed For Abusing Police Officer

Abusing officers seems to have become something of a hobby during the circuit breaker, as yet another man verbally abused one.

56-year-old Christopher Amurutham was sentenced to 11 weeks’ jail on the same day (13 May) for several charges.

In addition to verbally abusing a police officer, Amurutham also used force to resist arrest and pointed his middle finger in the charge court.

He also left his house to eat and drink in public without a valid reason and did not wear his mask properly while outside his home.

For using criminal force on a public servant carrying out their duties, he could have been jailed for up to four years, fined, or both.

Officers Are Just Doing Their Jobs

One wonders why so many people are turning on the officers who are making sure people abide by the circuit breaker rules that were implemented for our own good.

Abusing these officers will achieve nothing but land you in trouble, whether it’s a fine or even jail time.

Remember, these guys are just doing their jobs.

To stay in the loop about news in Singapore, you might want to subscribe to our YouTube channel whereby we’d update you about what’s happening here daily: