A man was recently caught on camera shoving an SMRT staff member at Lakeside MRT station. A Mothership reader who shared the video footage of the incident said the man was in a verbal and physical fight with at least two SMRT staff. The incident took place on August 10 at 12:15 PM.
How it started
The whole situation began when a commuter told the SMRT staff that a man was allegedly using a vape on the train network. According to SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai, the staff then went and found the man. They escorted him off the train and planned to hand him over to the authorities.
The man being stopped seemed to be walking in an “erratic” way. The staff were trying to prevent him from leaving the station. In a second video from the reader, the staff could be seen talking to the man, who appeared to be listening to what they were saying.
An aggressive response towards the SMRT staff
SMRT Trains president Lam added that during the incident, the man “had acted aggressively towards the SMRT staff, pushing them and attempting to take back his vape.”
Lam also stated, “Our staff responded appropriately in self-defence, while maintaining public order and ensuring the safety of other commuters.”
The man’s behaviour and his breaking of SMRT’s rules resulted in a Notice of Offence (NOO) being issued to him. People who receive an NOO are expected to follow the instructions and pay the required penalty.
Lam stated, “SMRT takes such unlawful behaviour seriously, and we strongly encourage commuters who witness similar incidents to report them to our staff immediately.”
Vaping is illegal in Singapore
Anyone possessing, using or buying e-vaporisers can result in a fine of up to S$2,000.
It is also an offence to import, sell or distribute them, with penalties of up to S$10,000, six months’ jail, or both for first-time offenders. Repeat offenders face double the penalties.
To encourage people to stop vaping, authorities have rolled out an initiative to get users to dispose of their devices at “vape bins“. Authorities said that those who step forward to dispose of their e-vaporisers or voluntarily seek support for quitting will not face any penalties.
The locations of these bins can be found online.
