Man to appear in court after allegedly punching policeman and flashing middle finger

SINGAPORE - First he crashed his car into a lorry. Then, he allegedly hit out at a traffic police officer.

And if that was not enough, he reportedly flashed his middle finger at policemen as he tried to run away.

He was eventually arrested, and now the 24-year-old man is due to appear in court for allegedly assaulting a police officer, the police said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 10).

According to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, the incident occurred when a grey Honda ran into the back of a lorry at the junction of Riverside Road and Admiralty Road on Monday morning.

Following the accident, the lorry driver and his passenger were both taken to Khoo Teck Puat hospital.

But while traffic police officers were arresting the male car driver for his suspected involvement in traffic and drug-related offences, the man resisted and punched one of the officers, the police said in their statement.

He then tried to escape, and as he was running away, turned to flash his middle finger to taunt the four officers who were giving him chase.

However, he soon ran out of breath after about half a kilometre, and was subsequently detained, Zaobao reported.

If charged, the man may be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or face a combination of those punishments.

seanyap@sph.com.sg