Man charged with attempted murder of NParks safe distancing enforcement officer at park connector

SINGAPORE — A 61-year-old man was charged in a district court on Wednesday (May 6) with the attempted murder of a safe distancing enforcement officer from the National Parks Board (NParks), who had been installing SafeEntry signs along the Sungei Serangoon Park Connector.

Ahirrudin Al-Had Haji Arrifin had been cutting pandan leaves illegally there on Monday while not wearing a face mask, the police said in a statement that same day.

When two enforcement officers came across Ahirrudin, he turned aggressive and stabbed one of them with a sharp instrument before fleeing on his bicycle, the police added.

The victim was taken to Changi General Hospital after sustaining serious injuries to his chest, arm and hand. He has since undergone surgery and is in stable condition.

Ahirrudin was arrested within one-and-a-half hours of the incident. 

The police have also been investigating him for possessing offensive weapons in public and breaching safe distancing measures, but those were not the subject of his charges on Wednesday.

Ahirrudin appeared in court through a video link wearing a red top and sporting a bandage on his forehead. He was eventually taken out in a wheelchair.

District Judge Clement Tan noted that he has a history at the Institute of Mental Health, and ordered him to be remanded at the Complex Medical Centre in Changi Prison.

He will return to court on May 27.

If convicted of attempted murder, he could be jailed up to 15 years and fined.

If hurt was caused to the victim, he could be sentenced up to life in prison. The offence also carries the possibility of caning, but those aged above 50 cannot be caned by law.

Around 1,000 NParks officers are among the many SG Clean and safe distancing ambassadors deployed to public places and Housing and Development Board estates across the country, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said in a Facebook post on Monday.

So far, several individuals have been hauled to court for using criminal force on or verbally abusing safe distancing ambassadors, enforcement officers or police officers during the circuit breaker period.

In one such incident, a 39-year-old man was charged with slapping a safe distancing ambassador’s hand when she advised him not to loiter along Hougang Avenue 8 on April 18.

The police had said then that they have seen an increase in abuse cases against the 3,000 officers and ambassadors deployed across Singapore daily to enforce circuit breaker and safe distancing rules.