Security guard allegedly abused in lift of Bukit Batok condo, police investigating case

SINGAPORE — A security officer who was deployed at a condominium in the western region of Singapore was allegedly assaulted while on duty on Monday (Aug 29), in yet another case of abuse against such workers.

This was revealed by the Union of Security Employees in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Mr Afinde Mohammed, 55, had been patrolling at the condominium when he encountered the alleged assailant in a lift.

The police told TODAY that they were alerted to a case of assault at about 12.40am on Bukit Batok Street 41 on Monday.

A 45-year-old man will be investigated for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt, they added.

The union said that the assailant allegedly assaulted Mr Afinde on his neck and back, and shouted obscenities against the guard while carrying out the attack.

“All these were captured on the CCTV,” the union said.

It added that Mr Afinde has since filed a police report, accompanied by a management representative from Formteam, the firm that hired him.

In photos that accompanied the Facebook post about the alleged assault, a man in a dark-coloured T-shirt can be seen grabbing Mr Afinde’s head while in a lift.

Another photo showed the alleged assault happening at what appeared to be a lift lobby that led to a car park, with vehicles seen in the background.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Union of Security Employees visited Mr Afinde and gave him some gifts and vouchers.

Mr Steve Tan, executive secretary of the union, said that “security officers perform important tasks as provided for under the law”.

“They should not be abused for doing their job. This was an egregious case of abuse and the union will do our utmost to help the officer. We are confident that the perpetrator will be caught and dealt with accordingly by the police,” he added.

The union urges members of the public who spot abuses against security workers to report them through the union’s mobile application or email use [at] ntuc.org.sg.

Last month, a security officer who was on duty at the Giant hypermarket in Tampines was allegedly assaulted by a man whom he had advised to put on a face mask before entering the building.

Members of the public were still required to wear a mask when entering a building at the time of the incident.

And in June, a man allegedly drove over the foot of a female security guard at the Skysuites 17 condominium in Balestier and verbally abused her as well.

This after the security guard stopped a driver at the car entry barrier to check whether he was a visitor.