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She thought police chase was gang fight
The New Paper
Sunday, May 20, 2012
It started off as a quiet afternoon for the residents of Pasir Ris estate.
But a loud commotion outside their flats quickly changed that.
A housewife, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Samsudin, 36, looked out of her bedroom window and saw a group of men chasing two others.
She thought it was a gang fight and was about to call the police, when she saw one of the pursuers whipping out a pair of handcuffs.
She told The New Paper: "Turns out, they were the police."
The incident happened on Thursday at 3.20pm.
Eight arrested
A police spokesman said they conducted an operation on Thursday at Pasir Ris where eight people were arrested - six men and two women aged between 19 and 37. Investigations are ongoing.
Mrs Samsudin, who lives on the fifth floor of Block 477, Pasir Ris Drive 6, said she first heard someone shouting, followed by the sound of multiple footsteps.
From her window, she saw two men run into the open-air carpark beside her flat.
Chasing them were a group of men - plainclothes officers.
She called her sister over, and together, they watched the scene unfold.
The two men took off in opposite directions.
One of them headed for the sisters' void deck, but was quickly pinned down by two officers in the carpark.
Said Mrs Samsudin: "He screamed, 'I didn't do anything!' We thought he was being beaten up.
"I was thinking if we should call the police."
But then one of the officers took out the handcuffs. The officers searched the man's pockets and patted him down.
The sisters also saw the other suspect, who already had a helmet on, make a dash for his motorcycle.
Tackled
But before he could even get on it, he was tackled by two other officers.
He struggled to get free, but was eventually subdued.
Said Mrs Samsudin: "It looked like those dramas you watch on television."
Added her sister, 39: "I was quite worried.
"My first instinct was to lock our front door, in case he actually ran up to our house."
Just when they thought things had settled, they heard more screaming.
A woman was running into a nearby void deck, chased by a female officer.
She did not get far and was soon brought to the carpark.
All three suspects appeared to be in their early twenties. They were handcuffed and placed in separate cars.
The sisters then watched as the officers checked the mobile phones they took from the suspects.
Mrs Samsudin estimated that 10 officers were at the scene.
The three suspects were herded into one car and were driven off.
Shortly after, the other five suspects were arrested and taken away in a police van.
Said Mrs Samsudin: "In the 14 years we've lived here, something like this has never happened.
"I couldn't believe it was happening right in front of me. And in broad daylight, too."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
