Driver abuses security officer, snatches his phone after car is wheel-clamped in Bukit Batok

Fatimah Mujibah
The Straits Times
April 14, 2023

A man reportedly confronted a security officer and abused him after his vehicle was wheel-clamped for blocking a fire escape route.

The incident took place on Thursday at WCEGA Plaza in Bukit Batok, the Union of Security Employees (USE) said in a Facebook post on Friday.

The USE said a security officer, identified only as Michael, was instructed by the complex manager to wheel-clamp two illegally parked vehicles that were blocking a fire escape route.

WCEGA Plaza is an industrial building whose tenants are mostly car workshops. Visitors can drive directly to each shop and park at allocated spots outside them.

The man, who the USE identified as a client of one of workshops, allegedly spoke aggressively to the complex manager, demanding the wheel clamps be released, the union said. It is not known which floor of the building the incident happened.

He also attempted to snatch the security officer’s mobile phone when the latter tried to record the incident.

Members of the union, along with its president Ardi Amir, visited the officer to show their support after the incident. “We are glad that (he) was not physically hurt,” the USE said in its post.

This is the second time a security guard has been abused in a wheel-clamping incident this month.

On April 3, a man was seen in a widely circulated video berating and insulting a security officer at the Thomson Grand condominium in Sin Ming Road. The man had allegedly parked his BMW illegally.

The USE said it strongly condemns any act of abuse or violence against security officers, noting that they are just doing their jobs.

It appealed to the public for help in ensuring security officers have a safe work environment and to report cases of abuse through the USE mobile app or via use@ntuc.org.sg

It added that it would tap the Private Security Industry Act, which was enhanced and gazetted in May 2022, to offer more protection to officers.