SINGAPORE, April 3 –– The Singapore Army has filed a police report over a motorcyclist who claimed to be from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Military Police Command and that he could impound a motorist’s car during an altercation that was captured on a dashcam.
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The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said this in response to TODAY’s query after the dashcam footage was posted on the Facebook page SG Road Vigilante on Monday (April 1).
The police confirmed that a report has been filed and investigations are ongoing.
In the minute-long video, a driver can be seen moving to the rightmost lane of the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) just before continuous horning is heard.
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A motorcyclist, who appears to be in a SAF uniform, can be seen passing on the left side before merging into the rightmost lane and stopping in front of the car.
The rider then dismounts and walks towards the driver’s window.
The driver, whose dashcam camera is recording the exchange, is then heard asking the motorcyclist, “Eh why you point middle finger ah (sic)?”, as horning from other motorists can be heard.
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The rider then asked if the driver was trying to cause an accident, to which the driver responded that he had signalled beforehand and asked the rider what he was trying to do.
The rider then uttered an expletive and claimed that he is from “Military Police Command”, before asking the driver if he wanted his car to be impounded.
The driver responded that he was “not scared” and asked the motorcyclist to call the police. A scream of “you go and call” can be heard. It is unclear who this was from.
The motorcyclist was then seen walking back to his motorcycle and riding off.
The video then cuts to footage that appears to be from the car’s rear camera before the altercation.
The car can be seen filtering into the rightmost lane of the PIE with the motorcyclist riding closely behind him.
It is unclear when the incident took place, though the SG Road Vigilante Facebook post claimed it was on the evening of March 28.
In response to TODAY’s queries, a Mindef spokesperson said on Wednesday: “He (the motorcyclist) is not a regular serviceman, nor from the SAF Military Police Command. He was not on any Operationally-Ready National Serviceman duties at the time of the incident.”
The Singapore Army had in a Facebook post on Tuesday that it is aware of the incident and that preliminary investigation had found that the motorcyclist is an Operationally-Ready National Serviceman.
It added that the SAF holds its servicemen to “high standard of conduct and discipline” and does not condone “such unruly behaviour”.
“Impersonation of SAF personnel is a serious offence, and offenders will be liable for prosecution,” the army added in its post.
According to Mindef’s website, the SAF Military Police Command upholds and enforces military law, order and discipline in the SAF during peacetime and war.
The formation carries out policing and security operations, as well as ceremonial functions for both Mindef and the state, it added.—TODAY