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SINGAPORE – A food delivery rider set out for a night of fun earlier this year, but it ended with his arrest.
When he woke up from a drunken stupor and found himself about to be put in an ambulance, he started verbally abusing a police officer.
Syed Shafiq Syed Niamath, 37, pleaded guilty on Thursday (July 23) to one charge of insulting a police officer under the Protection from Harassment Act, and was fined S$3,000.
A second similar charge was taken into consideration for his sentencing.
State Prosecuting Officer Teo Keng Beng told the court that the incident happened on the morning of Feb 9 around Compassvale Crescent.
That morning, an ambulance crew from the Singapore Civil Defence Force was called to attend to Shafiq, who was found lying on the ground at around 9.30am.
The ambulance crew had tried to rouse Shafiq, who reeked of alcohol, but to no avail so they called the police for assistance.
Two police officers who arrived at the scene checked Shafiq’s identity card and found that he was living nearby. One of them tried contacting Shafiq’s family by knocking on the door of his home, but no one answered.
A decision was made to take Shafiq to a hospital, but he woke up just as he was about to be put on a stretcher.
Unable to find his mobile phone, Shafiq turned aggressive and accused the police and civil defence officers of stealing it before hurling a string of obscenities in both English and Hokkien at them.
Among the insults directed at one police officer, Shafiq had asked if he was “infected” or whether he had a “disease”, and made references to the officer’s race.
He also demanded that they stop touching him. He was then arrested.
Shafiq, who was not represented by a lawyer, told the court that he was drunk and he could not remember the exact words he had used, though he recalled being abusive.
When asked if he was disputing the facts when his words were recorded on the police officer’s body-worn camera, he said: “If this is on the camera, then this is what I said.”
In pleading for a lighter sentence, Shafiq admitted that what he did was wrong. “I was drunk. I went out for a night of fun, but it was an unfortunate turn of events.”
He said he remembered getting into a taxi to head home and was near his destination when he fell asleep.
The next thing he knew, he was being attended to by ambulance officers. “People were wearing masks and I thought I was going to die,” Shafiq said.
The father of two, who was previously convicted for snatch theft and being a gang member, asked for another chance: “I’ve tried to be a good citizen, but alcohol didn’t help me. It’s been 10 years since I committed an offence.”
For insulting a public servant, Shafiq could have been fined up to S$5,000 or jailed up for to 12 months, or both.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...ce-officer-after-waking-drunk-after-night-out
