Man, 43, arrested after insulting and spitting at police during Yishun HDB fire evacuation
A 43-year-old man was arrested after causing a disturbance during an Yishun HDB fire evacuation, repeatedly provoking officers, hurling vulgarities, and even spitting at them.
The commotion occurred amid a fire that had broken out in a 12th-floor unit of Block 381C Yishun Ring Road, at around 5.15pm on July 3.
A reader alerted Shin Min Daily News to the incident, reporting that thick smoke was billowing from the unit.
When reporters arrived, the fire had already been extinguished. Several police cars and fire engines were at the scene, and the windows of the affected unit had been shattered. Police had also set up a cordon at the foot of the block.
Dozens of residents had been evacuated, some carrying infants as they hurried downstairs, while others brought their pets.
Man causes disturbance for almost 2 hours
At about 6pm, while residents were waiting for the cordon to be lifted, a middle-aged man dressed in a red tank top and black pants suddenly began shouting at police officers outside the restricted area.
Footage of the incident was uploaded on Facebook group Singapore Incidents. In the video, a police officer raises his voice at the man, prompting the man to lean closer and saying that he “cannot hear”.
Moments later, when the police officer attempts to speak to him again, he shouts: “No, no. I don’t want to talk to you.”
The officers walk towards the HDB block instead, leaving the man on the footpath as he continues to shout.
Shin Min reported that at around 7.25pm, several officers subdued the man and placed him in handcuffs. Even after being restrained, he allegedly continued yelling at the officers and spat at one of them.
The ruckus continued for nearly two hours. An ambulance later arrived, and paramedics attempted to examine the man, but he refused to cooperate and continued to struggle.
At around 8pm, he was carried onto the ambulance on a stretcher while still shouting profanities.
Arrested for public nuisance
Nearby residents said the man was believed to live in a neighbouring block, though they did not know why he had become so agitated.
In response to Stomp’s queries, police confirmed that while officers and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were responding to the fire, a 43-year-old man repeatedly uttered vulgarities and made inappropriate remarks towards officers carrying out their duties.
When officers approached him, he refused to cease his behaviour and spat on an officer.
The man was subsequently arrested for being a public nuisance, using insulting words towards a public servant, and using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty.
Police investigations are ongoing.
SCDF said one person was taken to the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital after another call for assistance at 7.25pm.
‘Make the video go viral’: Man films officers and shouts
The man had also filmed police officers amidst the confrontation, encouraging others to record the incident.
After he was restrained, he continued yelling and reportedly told a Shin Min reporter to upload the video to social media, saying: “Remember to make the video go viral.”
In another Facebook video posted on July 4, the man strolls around the common area at the foot of the HDB block, claiming: “Now they know who am I. Because they cannot arrest me. Why? Something wrong with them or something wrong with me?”
Much of the video was unintelligible, but at one point, he alleges that he had held his hands out to be handcuffed, but was not arrested.
When an officer approaches him, he turns the other way, saying: “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t want to talk to you. The more I talk also, it’s nonsense.”
Woman believed to be family member tried to calm him
After he was handcuffed, the man repeatedly mentioned his wife. Shortly afterwards, a middle-aged woman arrived and tried to calm him down.
At one point, the man suddenly collapsed and began vomiting.
He gradually recovered after the woman and SCDF personnel attended to him, but continued shouting loudly.
As he refused to cooperate, police officers and paramedics reportedly spent about half an hour transporting him on a stretcher and into the ambulance.
Child rescued from burning flat, taken to hospital
When reporters visited the 12th floor that evening, the smell of smoke still lingered in the corridor. Residents of the neighbouring units had since returned home.
The corridor ceiling had been blackened by smoke, while the affected flat was left in disarray.
A man believed to be a friend of the family visited the unit to check on them but declined to comment, saying only that his friend’s family lived there and that he was unaware of the circumstances. Another man believed to be a resident of the unit also declined to be interviewed.
In a Facebook post on July 3, SCDF said firefighters found the living room of the 12th-floor unit ablaze and extinguished the fire using a water jet.
Another team of firefighters rescued a child who was found in a bedroom. The child was taken to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital after suffering smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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