When I was in Primary School, we studied a series entitled 'Dear Mr Policeman'. Basically, it thought us things like how we should never follow a stranger, open the door to a stranger, etc. Kinda like how to protect ourselves. As Primary School students, it also gave us a little glimpse of talking to a policeman. I never thought too much of it until today..
For the second time in my life, I called the Police. It was the first time i called the police in Singapore. The first was when i was in New Zealand and I witnessed a poor Chinese female student get robbed by a person who jumped into a car immediately after grabbing her bag. The poor girl tried to hold onto her bag but she was dragged across the road. She was holding onto so tightly that the bag strap snapped and she was left lying on the road holding the strap. I witnessed the entire thing. So, that was my first time calling the police.
Tonight, I called the Singaporean police for the first time.
To: Mr Policeman
From: Mr Samuel Goh
Date: 12/4/08
It was 10.10pm and I took the MRT train from City Hall Station to Dhoby Ghaut Station. I was intending to change trains at Dhoby Ghaut to the North-East Line. The train was quite crowded, but there was certainly enough space for everyone on the train. Although it was only standing room, it was comfortable enough. I expected a routine trip and did not expect anything extraordinary to happen.
As the train arrived at Dhoby Ghaut, there was a loud 'bang'. Puzzled by what caused the sound, I turned to look and was most surprised to see a man being assaulted. His face had been smashed again the glass window by the side of the train doors. He continued to be beaten in the face even as he asked 'what happened?'. There was also a handphone lying on the floor of the train.
The assailant was a Malay Male in his mid-twenties of about 1.6m in height. He was wearing a red shirt t-shirt which read 'PSYH ED. 1981'. He was also wearing a pair of navy blue bermudas with slippers. There was also a large scar on his forehead just above the bridge of his nose. His hair, obviously gelled up, was short and spiky. There was also a Malay female with him. She was wearing a floral top and a pair of dark blue jeans. She was also carrying an "MNG" paper bag.
The victim was probably an Indian national as he did not speak with a local accent. He was obviously too stunned to react considering that the assailant had the element of surprise and continued to rain down punches on his poor victim. His girlfriend did not stop him from attacking the victim.
The assailant got off the train after attacking the victim and headed for the North-East Line towards Punggol. I followed the assailant. However, I had to depart as I had reached my station before he departed, hence, I was unable to follow him. Upon reaching the station control, I informed the station master of the assault. However, to my dismay, he was extremely unhelpful. All he could manage was 'with these sort of things, there is nothing we can do about it.' I was disappointed and replied with a 'so, are you going to leave things as it is?' He replied with a 'Yes'.
At this point, I decided to inform the police by dialing '999'. I reported this incident as I could not let the matter rest. Justice had to be served. I was assured by the police that they would try to arrest this person.
I would like to suggest that this assailant be dealt with in a most firm manner as we should not tolerate violence in Singapore. Irregardless of what the victim had done to him or his partner, there is no reason to resort to violence. Hence, I would like to suggest that he be imprisoned for no less than one month and be made to attend courses on anger management to better manage his anger.
Dear 2N3,
The above is a true story which happened tonight. See, I told you that report writing has a purpose. I've merely written the incident as a report. I have already sent this to the police.... See you guys on Monday.
Take Care and Stay Safe
Mr Goh
