Security guard, 74, left bleeding after assault by condo resident; third such case of abuse in 2 weeks

SINGAPORE — A 74-year-old security guard was left "injured and bleeding" after being assaulted by a condominium resident in Potong Pasir last week, the Union of Security Employees (USE) said.

It was the third reported case of a security officer being abused in the space of two weeks, the union said in a Facebook post on Friday (April 21).

It added that it was "appalled at the egregious nature of this latest incident", which occurred in the early hours of April 14. 

The union said that the security officer had witnessed an "altercation" between a male resident and a taxi driver outside the condominium's guardhouse.

"The resident approached the security officer aggressively, shouting at him. He then assaulted the security officer repeatedly, leaving him injured and bleeding," the post read. 

The guard then called the police. The union said that it has also helped to file a police report over the incident.

The victim is now on medical leave and his employer is taking care of his medical expenses.

Representatives from the union also visited the injured man at his home and presented him with some quick relief vouchers. 

A close-up image shared by the union in its post showed a bloody gash on the security guard's head. 

Responding to TODAY's queries, the union said that according to the guard, the resident had allegedly used his mobile phone to hit him on his head, as well as kicked him.

The Private Security Industry Act was enhanced from May last year to "offer our officers more protection against abuse", the union said in its post.

Its general secretary Raymond Chin told TODAY on Friday that beyond the enhancements to the law, more could be done to bring attention to the issue of security guard abuse.

For instance, USE has worked with government and business partners, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, to issue decals around sites with a security presence in Singapore to warn against abuse of security officers.

It has also developed a mobile application for security guards to "readily file reports whenever they are abused".

Mr William Seak, president of the Association of Certified Security Agencies, told TODAY that such abuse cases are not uncommon and have been happening, but some were not brought to the public’s attention.

There seems to still be a rise in cases even after efforts made to raise awareness of the consequences such as the introduction of the decals, he added.

In view of this, unions and associations continue to lend support to security officers, by advising them to come forward and make police reports should they face abuse, and to assist them where needed.

“We see that the police are paying more attention to these cases and taking them more seriously. As such, more security officers are more willing and forthcoming to raise such abuse to the authorities,” Mr Seak said.

He felt that some of these abusers have a sense of superiority over the security officers. Members of the public who witness such abuse towards security officers should step forward and assist, he added.

Mr Jourdan Sabapathy, executive director of Security Association Singapore, told TODAY that based on feedback from its members and a USE survey, such incidents have not abated since the changes to the Private Security Industry Act provided for specific offences against security officers.

He suggested some ways that can help stem abuse against officers:

• Encourage and empower security officers to stand up for themselves and seek the appropriate remedies under the law since most abused security officers prefer not to pursue the matter by making a police report
• Widely publicise penalties meted out to convicted abusers so as to increase public knowledge of the consequences under the law for abusing officers
• Increase the use of body cameras and train officers on how to use them for deterrence purposes
• Security agencies, building owners, security service buyers and the public should speak up for security officers, stand up for them if they witness incidents of abuse or render help by calling the police

"It doesn’t hurt to casually say hello or give a word of appreciation to security officers for the important work they do. Everyone has a role to play. It is not only the authorities’ and the union’s responsibility to protect our workers," Mr Sabapathy said.

TWO OTHER CASES IN APRIL

Responding to queries from TODAY, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) provided statistics of abuse cases that the USE has handled in recent years. 

NTUC said that there were nine abuse cases in 2021 and 55 cases in 2022. So far in 2023, there have been 15 cases. 

With the marked rise in cases, USE noted that this is the third case of abuse that it has attended to this month.

On April 3, a security guard was verbally abused at Thomson Grand condominium by a man demanding that the wheel clamp on his car be removed. 

Then, on April 13, another security guard was confronted and verbally abused by a man whose car was wheel clamped at WCEGA Plaza in Bukit Batok. 

"No one goes to work expecting to be assaulted," USE said on Friday. "Our officers are merely doing their jobs, performing duties given to them."

Under the enhanced Private Security Industry Act, anyone found guilty of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress to a security worker can be fined up to S$5,000 or jailed up to 12 months, or both.

Those found guilty of assaulting or using criminal force on a security worker can be fined up to S$7,500 or jailed up to two years, or both.

As for those found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt, they are liable to be fined up to S$10,000 or jailed up to five years, or both.

"We stand firmly against any acts of abuse on our officers, and will work closely with the authorities to ensure that acts of abuse are attended to," said the union in its post. "We will also offer our officers our fullest support to tide them through."

The issue of security guard abuse was thrust into the spotlight in 2019, when Eight Riversuites resident Ramesh Erramalli was captured in a viral video verbally abusing a security guard over a S$10 parking fee for visitors after 11pm. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SUFIYAN SAMSURI