Man accused of shoving female SMRT security officer, 65
A man allegedly became uncooperative after an elderly female SMRT security officer asked to check his backpack and shoved the 65-year-old woman who injured her head after she fell backwards.
On Aug 19, Alina Meridian, 30, was charged with causing hurt to the woman by performing a rash act.
He was at Lorong Chuan MRT station shortly before 8am on Aug 17 when the officer asked to check his backpack.
In a statement on Aug 19, the police said: “The man was uncooperative and started to shout at the security officer.
“During the dispute, the man allegedly grabbed her arms and pushed her, causing her to fall backwards before (he walked) away towards the train platform.”
The officer, who was conscious when she was taken to hospital, was later discharged with five days of medical leave.
Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish Meridian’s identity through images from devices such as police cameras. They arrested him on Aug 18.
On Aug 19, he was ordered to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for a medical examination and his case has been adjourned to Sept 2.
For causing hurt to another person by performing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
Responding to a parliamentary question in May 2023, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said that on average, there were about 23 abuse or harassment cases involving security officers reported each month in the first three months of that year.
This was higher than the average of 13 reported cases per month between 2018 and 2021.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Minister for Law, added: “The Ministry of Home Affairs takes a very serious view of abuse and harassment of security officers.
“This is why we amended the Private Security Industry Act (PSIA) in October 2021 to enhance protections for security officers, with penalties pegged higher than if they were committed against general members of the public.”
These amendments came into force in 2022.
Among other things, new offences were introduced under the Act to address the types of harassment and abuse faced by security officers while on official duties.
The new offences included assaulting or using criminal force to deter an officer from discharging his or her duties.
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