'You India bodoh': Man attacks another with stroller for not holding lift at Century Square

A man allegedly punched another in the face and attacked him with a baby stroller over not holding the lift at a Tampines mall on Aug 23.

Sharing photos of the man who allegedly assaulted him, Stomp contributor John said it happened in Century Square at 10.45am.

In response to a Stomp query, police said they were alerted to a case of assault along 4 Tampines Central 5 at about 10.55am and are looking into the matter.

The Stomp contributor said that he had entered the lift followed by the man, the man's wife and the man's mother.

"Once the door closed, he shouted at me with a commanding tone, 'Oooi, you cannot hold the lift?'," recounted John.

"It felt so disrespectful and replied, 'Do I owe you? Your mum and wife outside can hold the lift for you what.'

"This guy suddenly became very aggressive and wanted to attack me, but his mum held him back. As soon as the lift door opened, he punched my face. This was an unprovoked assault.

"I called for the police and he continued to attack me with the baby trolley, causing some minor bruises.

"The worst part is that he made a racist comment, 'You India bodoh,' and continued to say that he is Singaporean and he served national service. Hence, he has all the right to do anything here. 'Who are you? Which country are you from?'

"If you are a Singaporean, you can assault anyone on the street? Make racist comments?

"To make things worse, police said this was a non-arrestable offence and let the guy go although there were several aggravating factors such as assault, using a weapon (trolley) to attack me and making racist comments.

"This is giving a signal that anyone in the street can assault anyone and humiliate anyone and can be a free bird thereafter.

"I hope the police will take this case as a serious matter as this guy will continue with the same pattern to other members of the public."

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The Stomp contributor added that he had made a magistrate's complaint.

"The magistrate told me he would direct the police to investigate," he said.

This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.