SINGAPORE — A 30-year-old woman has accused the police of hitting her during the Thaipusam procession last week — an occasion that also saw three men allegedly hurling vulgarities at police officers and injuring one of them.

The woman is the wife of one of the three men, who were charged on Saturday for disorderly behaviour at the procession on Feb 3. The police yesterday confirmed that she had filed the report on Feb 4.

In a statement, the police said the woman has accused three police officers of “hitting or pushing” her during the procession.

“The police take a serious view of any allegation against officers and will investigate each case thoroughly,” a spokesperson said. “However, if the allegations are found to be false, appropriate action, in accordance with our laws, will be taken against any persons found to have furnished false information to the police.”

On Feb 3, police officers were called in after the procession’s organisers were unable to get a group of people to stop playing drums, which contravenes the conditions of the police permit for the event. The three men were arrested following a scuffle with the police.

A video clip of the incident went viral online later, with some questioning the behaviour of the police officers, while others asked why the playing of musical instruments was not allowed during the procession.

This prompted two Cabinet ministers — Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam and Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran — to comment on the incident in Facebook posts, with Mr Shanmugam stressing that Hindus are not discriminated against and have been given a special privilege not enjoyed by others.

The trio charged on Saturday are expected to return to court on March 6. Ramachandra Chandramohan, 32, faces the most charges, with seven charges against him including behaving in a disorderly manner and voluntarily causing hurt to a police officer. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.

Jaya Kumar Krishnasamy, 28, faces three charges, including voluntarily obstructing a police officer in the discharge of his public functions.

Gunasegaran Rajendran, 33, faces two charges, which include disorderly conduct with the deliberate intention to wound the religious feelings of a police officer.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr Shanmugam pointed out that since 1964, after the communal riots, all religious processions on foot have been banned. However, Hindus were given an exemption and are allowed to have three religious foot processions: Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Thimithi.

Mr Iswaran, who spoke to reporters at the sidelines of an official visit in Spain on Thursday, urged Singaporeans to exercise calm and restraint. While Singaporeans celebrate their respective festivals or events, they must also consider the need to preserve safety and law and order, he said.