Member of public subdues man who brandished scissors wildly at Bedok Mall

Nine members of the public were commended for their public spiritedness in a ceremony held at Bedok Police Division on Wednesday (Oct 23),

On May 17, 2018, Mr Tan Teck Heng assisted the police in arresting a man for criminal intimidation at Bedok Mall.

Responding to shouts for help, Mr Tan approached the man who was brandishing a pair of scissors wildly and asked him to calm down before removing the pair of scissors from him.

Together with responding security officers, Mr Tan subdued the man and handed him over to the police.

Officers from Bedok Police Division have been engaging stakeholders such as retailers, banks and remittance agencies to educate their staff on scams and train them to identify tell-tale signs.

On five separate occasions, staff of these stakeholders thwarted various scams through timely interventions in suspicious transactions. Together, they successfully prevented a potential loss of more than $100,000.

On Jun 18, Mr Villasoto Vergel Vicente San Antonio, an employee with Silver Bullion, assisted the police in preventing an e-commerce scam at CISCO Building.

Mr Villasoto noticed a customer searching for a Bitcoin machine and offered his assistance.

Upon further checks, he realised that the approval stamp sent to the customer via a text message was fake. He then advised the customer to lodge a police report. 

On Jul 3, Mr Ismail Bin Rahman, an assistant branch manager with Singpost, assisted the police in preventing a cyber extortion scam along Tanjong Katong Road.

Mr Ismail observed a customer looking flustered while attempting to remit money. Mr Ismail felt something was amiss and dissuaded the customer from making his remittance transaction, which turned out to be a scam.

On Sep 12, Mr Wong Yew Kin, Mr Khng Wei Lun and Ms Lai Yixiu assisted the police in preventing a woman from falling prey to a loan scam at White Sands shopping mall.

The trio attended to the woman seeking assistance with her bank transfer and discovered that she did not know the bank account recipient. Suspecting that the customer could be victim of scam, they stopped her bank transfer and immediately alerted the police. 

On Sep 18, Ms Chiang Boon Cheng Kristie and Mr Ong Teck Cheong Alson assisted the police in preventing an impersonation scam at Parkway Parade shopping mall.

They managed to dissuade a customer from making a money transfer instructed by an unknown caller.

On Oct 7, Ms Sally Tay Siew Lan, a bank teller with DBS bank, assisted the police in preventing an impersonation scam and apprehending a male suspect.

Ms Tan attended to a man and woman who sought to withdraw a large sum of money. When probed, the man behaved suspiciously. Sensing that the man could be a scammer, she immediately alerted the police.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (DAC) Julius Lim, Commander of Bedok Police Division said:

“What makes these individuals special is the commitment they share to keep their communities safe and secure; to not turn a blind eye to crime; and to take it upon themselves to help their fellow citizens in difficulty.

"Today, the Singapore Police Force has the opportunity to offer them a small token of our appreciation.

"We hope their exemplary conduct will inspire others to step forward and serve their communities for a safer tomorrow.”