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Photographer handcuffed for taking flash flood photos
Was police move necessary or was photographer obstructing public service?
Photographer handcuffed for taking flash flood photos
Was police move necessary or was photographer obstructing public service?
Singapore floods(AP file photo)
Yet another flash flood hit Singapore last Saturday
A senior photojournalist with local Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao was arrested for taking pictures of the latest flash flood to hit Singapore Saturday, The Straits Times reported.
Mr Shafie Goh, 57, told The Straits Times he was standing on a manhole trying to get a picture of some partially submerged cars in flood-hit Bukit Timah when he was told by a police officer to leave.
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The photographer, who was not wearing any media identification, claimed he was requested to leave only once and the policeman simply handcuffed him even when he was about to move away. The police, however, said that he had repeatedly asked him to leave before they arrested him, the paper reported.
"I told him to allow me to take one more frame and was about to walk away, when he came from behind and handcuffed me," Goh said.
A police statement released to the media said officers had repeatedly warned Mr Goh to move away as he was snapping photos in a dangerous position. The man however refused to comply and continued walking along the road divider snapping pictures.
"As he was causing obstruction to the police officer in the discharge of his duties and causing danger to himself and others, the officers decided to restrain him and move him to safe grounds, but the man resisted and put up a struggle," a police spokesman was quoted by The Straits Times as saying.
Mr Goh also added that he had waited an hour for his statement to be recorded even though he was handcuffed only for five minutes.
Investigations are still ongoing and police have classified the case under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which involved obstructing a public servant in discharge of his public functions.
Saturday's flash floods, which submerged many low-lying areas from Telok Kurau to Balestier, were the third to hit Singapore in five weeks.
Was police move necessary or was photographer obstructing public service?
Photographer handcuffed for taking flash flood photos
Was police move necessary or was photographer obstructing public service?
Singapore floods(AP file photo)
Yet another flash flood hit Singapore last Saturday
A senior photojournalist with local Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao was arrested for taking pictures of the latest flash flood to hit Singapore Saturday, The Straits Times reported.
Mr Shafie Goh, 57, told The Straits Times he was standing on a manhole trying to get a picture of some partially submerged cars in flood-hit Bukit Timah when he was told by a police officer to leave.
SEE RELATED:
Heavy rainfalls force rat out of rat holes
Life returning to normal for flash flood victims
A trail of destruction and damage
Floods stain S'pore's reputation as urban paradise
The photographer, who was not wearing any media identification, claimed he was requested to leave only once and the policeman simply handcuffed him even when he was about to move away. The police, however, said that he had repeatedly asked him to leave before they arrested him, the paper reported.
"I told him to allow me to take one more frame and was about to walk away, when he came from behind and handcuffed me," Goh said.
A police statement released to the media said officers had repeatedly warned Mr Goh to move away as he was snapping photos in a dangerous position. The man however refused to comply and continued walking along the road divider snapping pictures.
"As he was causing obstruction to the police officer in the discharge of his duties and causing danger to himself and others, the officers decided to restrain him and move him to safe grounds, but the man resisted and put up a struggle," a police spokesman was quoted by The Straits Times as saying.
Mr Goh also added that he had waited an hour for his statement to be recorded even though he was handcuffed only for five minutes.
Investigations are still ongoing and police have classified the case under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which involved obstructing a public servant in discharge of his public functions.
Saturday's flash floods, which submerged many low-lying areas from Telok Kurau to Balestier, were the third to hit Singapore in five weeks.
