SINGAPORE – A security officer at Alexandra Central Mall has been found to have unlawfully grabbed the arm of a delivery rider who had parked his e-bike illegally outside the building to collect an order.
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.
Sandhu will be sentenced on March 13.
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.
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 uttered a vulgarity at 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.
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.
Delivery rider Eric Tan Chee Keong arriving at the State Courts in 2024. He was sentenced in 2023 to one week’s jail for his role in the dispute.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
“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.
Sandhu was represented by Mr Vigneesh Nainar and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, who is also the president of the Security Association Singapore.
For using criminal force against someone without grave and sudden provocation, he can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to $1,500, or both.
He can be jailed for up to one year, fined up to $5,000, or both, for committing affray.
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