Man Fined $3,000 for Verbally Abusing NEA Officer After He Was Caught Smoking in Non-Smoking Area

By
Ashley Seek
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Crimes are crimes, no matter how big or small.

If you get caught, the best thing you can do is comply. Trying to get out of it is probably only going to make things worse after all.

And if for some reason, you want to challenge or disrespect law enforcement officers, then you’re in for a bad time.

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But Muhammad Raynie Mokhtar, 34, decided to get aggressive anyway.

Man Fined $3,000 for Verbally Abusing NEA Officer After He Was Caught Smoking in Non-Smoking Area

In fact, TODAY reported that he ended up with a S$3,000 fine after pleading guilty to verbally abusing a public servant.

The incident occurred on 7 Feb 2020.

A National Environment Agency (NEA) officer, who was from Malaysia, had caught him smoking outside the smoking area at Lucky Plaza in the afternoon.

He also proceeded to issue Raynie a summons as well as taking his NRIC from him.

The latter complied and quickly went along with it…

…in some other universe besides this one.

Raynie instead got angry at the officer and began to tell ask why he was doing this “to Singaporeans” while hurling expletives at him.

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And by expletives, we mean a whole bunch of f-bombs, according to CNA.

The accused proceeded to take his NRIC from the officer’s hands.

In fact, he even went as far as to call the police under the reasoning that the NEA officer was abusing his power.

“I was a few centimetres from the smoking corner. Then the (officer) tapped me on my shoulder and said I am smoking outside the box. I need police here. They are abusing their powers.”

The entire scene was captured on the officer’s body-worn camera.

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Said He Was Cooperating Willingly

And since we’re still in this universe, Raynie got charged for his crime.

This wasn’t his first time either, having been fined for a traffic offence back in 2016.

In court, Raynie admitted that it was his fault and said he was always willing to cooperate with public servants, having been in prison before.

However, he also claimed the officer displayed a condescending attitude towards him.

“I just want you to understand why. I’m not xenophobic, my housemate is Malaysian.”

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Despite this, the prosecutor also said he had no right to use such language against the officer.

Raynie also tried to plead for a lower fine, saying he only has S$2 left in his bank account after paying for renovations for his flat.

He was also in the process of trying to save up for the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations next month.

For using abusive words towards a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000 or both.

Raynie is currently allowed to pay his fine in instalments by July this year.

Featured Image: 2p2play/ Shutterstock.com

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Ashley Seek
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