Teenager caught on video tossing bike off Punggol bridge says sorry
Bike sharing firm in contact with police, who are investigating incident
It was the day before their O-level listening comprehension.
At about 4pm on Monday, the group of about 10 youths were at the Lorong Halus bridge in Punggol when they saw what they claimed was a damaged ofo bicycle. The group then dared one of the boys to toss it off the bridge.
The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified, told The New Paper that he was under stress from school and home at the time.
He said: "My friends kept chanting and pressuring me to throw the bike into the water."
He then threw the bike.
The incident was caught on video by one of his friends, who posted it on Instagram.
The six-second video was taken down after half an hour, but by then it had been shared on several other social media platforms, with one tweet gaining more than 20,000 views, drawing the ire of netizens.
The boy said he regretted his decision and promised not to do it again. He said: "I should have ignored my friends instead of listening to them.
"I know it isn't the right thing to do and I regret my decision. I'm really sorry.
"Now people around me make jokes about me when they see me and I feel really stressed out about the situation."
The boy who took the video said his friend who threw the bike was not a bad person."One incident shouldn't define him. He was pressured by the others to throw the bike over."
The boy who threw the bike was involved in a similar incident more than a year ago, when he tossed an oBike from the same location on a dare. That incident was also captured on video, and was circulated following the incident on Monday.
An ofo spokesman said they were aware of the incident and are investigating, and are also in contact with the police.
"ofo advocates rider responsibility with a number of initiatives, including working with the government agencies to increase the number of designated parking spots, educating the community on responsible biking practices, and encouraging the public to report these incidents on our channels, such as ofo's Facebook page and app," she said.
A police spokesman confirmed a report has been lodged and that they are investigating.
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