SINGAPORE – A security officer who was trying to stop a delivery rider from parking illegally outside Alexandra Central Mall was fined $2,400 on March 13, after he was found to have unlawfully grabbed the rider’s arm and disturbed the public peace.
Following a trial, Sandhu D.S., 75, was convicted on Feb 19 over one charge of using criminal force against the rider and one charge of affray.
He was acquitted of two other charges of using criminal force on two other persons who had tried to step in during the incident.
The rider, Mr Eric Tan Chee Keong, was sentenced in June 2023 to one week’s jail for his role in the dispute.
He had pleaded guilty to a charge of affray, while a charge of using criminal force was taken into consideration during his sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Santhra Aiyyasamy asked the court to mete out a high fine, leaving the amount to the court, while Sandhu’s lawyers – Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, Mr Vigneesh Nainar and Mr Alex Neo – argued for a fine of between $1,700 and $2,500.
DPP Santhra said Sandhu was the one who initiated the physical contact and was the aggressor throughout the incident as he was agitated with Mr Tan for swearing at him.
She added: “The accused, whose duty as a security officer included keeping the peace at his place of work, had engaged in a physical altercation with the co-accused and behaved in a manner that disturbed the public peace.”
Sandhu’s lawyers said the security officer regrets his role in offences and has learnt from his experience.
In his mitigation, they said that he has been employed in the private security industry for most of his working life, and added that he received multiple accolades and testimonials for his character and competence, including a public spiritedness award he obtained in 1994.
He currently earns about $2,000 per month and is the sole breadwinner of his family, who stay apart from him in Batam, they added.
Said the defence lawyers: “He accepts that he may have crossed a line in the present case, and is committed to performing his duties in accordance with the law and without resorting to such physical interactions.”
Speaking to The Straits Times following his sentencing, Sandhu said he fully intends to continue as a security officer as it is the only job he has done all his life.
In the incident which occurred on Aug 21, 2022, Mr Tan had parked his e-bike outside John’s Pizzeria & Bakery to collect an order.
After Sandhu told him to park his e-bike elsewhere, Mr Tan said something vulgar to the security officer.
This was followed by a series of actions that included Sandhu holding on to Mr Tan’s e-bike and grabbing the rider’s arm.
In her grounds of decision, District Judge Carol Ling said it was clear that Sandhu was not defending himself when he held Mr Tan’s upper arm, but that he was seeking to restrain his movements and ensure that he did not leave until the police arrived.
She agreed with the prosecution that Sandhu had no authority to hold on to Mr Tan.
Judge Ling said: “He was already recording the incident and already knew there was a registration number on Eric’s e-bike. Even if Eric had left the scene when the police arrived, there would have been recourse.”
On the affray charge, she said footage from Sandhu’s body-worn camera was helpful in providing objective evidence for what unfolded that afternoon.
This included the scuffle between the pair during which both men were reaching for each other, and Sandhu uttered the word “come”.
The judge said the evidence was sufficient to show that a fight had occurred, even though there might not have been multiple or a continuous exchange of blows as one may expect in a full-blown one.
She said Sandhu was captured constantly lunging forward to push, grab or pull Mr Tan towards him, and using force to hold him.
“The accused was aggressive in the interaction; his clenched fists and his utterance of the word ‘come’ was clearly an invitation to Eric to fight,” the judge said, adding that the delivery rider was equally reactive physically.
The dispute between Sandhu and Mr Tan attracted the attention of others at the scene, and Sandhu was also charged with pushing two of them who tried to step in.
But Judge Ling said there was a reasonable doubt whether he had used such force knowing it would likely cause annoyance to the two individuals who were never identified.
She said there was no evidence of any ill-will between Sandhu and the well-meaning bystanders who were trying to defuse the situation. Sandhu’s focus was clearly on Mr Tan and his efforts to ensure that the delivery rider remained on the scene until the police came, the judge added.
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Thanks for sharing!