Man sustains cuts and bruises after alleged assault by bouncer outside Clarke Quay bar, police investigating
A woman has accused a bouncer of assaulting her male friend outside a Clarke Quay bar that she frequents — apparently because the bouncer overheard the group discussing plans to move to another club.
Stomper Q and some friends were at Home Dusk, a bar with a live band, celebrating a friend’s birthday on the evening of Aug 14.
“Around midnight (Aug 15), my friend stepped outside near the reception booth (a public area) to chat with a female friend about heading to Zouk later,” Q recounted.
According to Q, a man whom she identified as a bouncer overheard the conversation and “aggressively confronted” her friend, alleging that he was “poaching” customers for other nightlife venues.
“My friend reasonably retorted that as a paying customer, he has every right to invite his friends to other venues,” Q told Stomp.
However, Q’s friend sensed “increasing aggression” from the bouncer, and attempted to de-escalate the situation. He ignored the bouncer and backed away from his spot.
An ‘unprovoked’ attack
Q alleged that the bouncer charged forward and punched her friend repeatedly without warning.
“While my friend was backing away in shock and trying to defend himself by merely shoving the attacker back, a second unidentified man charged in,” Q recalled.
According to her, the second man shouted in Mandarin: “How dare you hit my brother!”
The bouncer and the second man then allegedly continued their assault on Q’s friend while he was already on the ground.
Q said that her friend’s ordeal only ended when their other friends and some passers-by intervened to hold the two alleged assailants back.
The group then called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police for assistance.
While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Q claimed the alleged attackers continued loitering nearby, “loudly warning us not to ‘provoke him in his territory’”.
She added that the bouncer appeared to boast about the alleged assault to passers-by.
Man suffered lacerations and bruises
In response to Stomp’s queries, the SCDF and police said they received a call for assistance at about 12.25am on Aug 15.
A 33-year-old man sustained minor injuries but declined to be sent to the hospital.
A 38-year-old man is assisting with investigations for voluntarily causing hurt.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Based on invoices and a referral letter shared by Q, her friend eventually visited the Accident and Emergency department at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
The comments in the referral letter indicated that Q’s friend suffered contusions of his ear and eyebrow lacerations.
He was also given three days of outpatient sick leave by the hospital.
Home Dusk: Incident arose from ‘personal matter’
Responding to Stomp’s queries, the management of Home Dusk said on Aug 25: “Based on our current understanding, the incident arose from a personal matter between the individuals involved and was unrelated to the business or operations of Home Dusk.”
It acknowledged that “both parties” sustained injuries in the altercation, which took place “outside Home Dusk’s premises, in a public area”.
“We are aware that various allegations have been made regarding the incident.
“Certain allegations are disputed and do not reflect our understanding of the facts,” Home Dusk’s management said.
As police and internal investigations are underway, the management declined to comment on “the identities, roles, affiliations or conduct of the individuals involved”.
“Home Dusk does not condone violence and takes the safety of our patrons and employees seriously. Any necessary action will be taken upon conclusion of the relevant investigations,” the management said.
It added that the business has engaged legal counsel on the matter and declined to make further comments until investigations have concluded and the facts have been established.
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