Man fled from NEA officers who caught him smoking illegally, assaulted and hurled vulgarities at one

A 64-year-old Singaporean man will be charged in court on Wednesday (July 29) for allegedly assaulting two National Environment Agency (NEA) enforcement officers after he was caught smoking illegally at a Telok Blangah coffee shop.

The police said in a statement on Tuesday (July 28) that they received a call for assistance on Apr 5 regarding an altercation between two NEA enforcement officers and a man at Block 26 Telok Blangah Crescent.

Preliminary investigation revealed the two officers had spotted the man smoking at a non-designated smoking table in a coffee shop at Block 12 Telok Blangah Crescent and asked for his particulars.

The man did not cooperate with the officers and ran away.

The officers gave chase and when one of the officers caught up with him, the man shoved his arm against the officer and used his hand to grab the officer's neck.

He also hurled vulgarities at the officer before he was subsequently arrested by the police.

The man will be charged in court with voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty and for using abusive language against a public servant.

The offence of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty carries a jail term of up to seven years, and shall also be liable to a fine or to caning.

The offence of using abusive language against a public servant carries a jail term of up to 12 months, a fine not exceeding $5,000, or both.

The police said they have zero tolerance towards such acts of violence against public servants who are carrying out their duties and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law.