Man allegedly barricaded himself in Sembawang flat with GF, kicked cop during arrest

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
Jan 25, 2024

A man who allegedly barricaded himself in a Sembawang flat with his girlfriend and kicked a policeman during his arrest was charged on Jan 25 with assaulting a public servant.

Haridas Ryan Peter, 49, is accused of kicking the 22-year-old special constable sergeant’s right hand and hip at a Sembawang Drive carpark on Jan 23.

In an earlier statement, police said they were alerted to a case of assault at Block 462 in the same neighbourhood at around 9.15pm that day.

Haridas is then said to have barricaded himself in a Housing Board flat with his 52-year-old girlfriend when officers arrived at the scene.

Officers from the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), Special Operations Command and the Singapore Civil Defence Force also responded to the incident as he might have posed a danger to himself and others.

In their statement, the police said: “After... negotiation by CNU officers, the police saw an opportunity to breach the unit when they observed that the woman went to the toilet, thus buying them time to ensure her safety.”

Without revealing details, the police added that they successfully entered the flat. Haridas allegedly kicked a police officer during his arrest.

His case has been adjourned to Feb 8.

For assaulting a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned.