Driver, 37, who hit traffic policeman in car chase to be charged; hirer of car, 22, arrested
Senior Staff Sergeant Haidil Osman was knocked off his motorbike while chasing a car that evaded a roadblock.
- A 37-year-old driver who was caught on camera knocking down a traffic police officer will be charged on Oct 30
- A 22-year-old hirer of the car was arrested for allowing the 37-year-old to drive without a valid licence
- The police were able to track down and arrest the driver in Yishun within four hours of the incident
SINGAPORE — A driver who rammed into a traffic police officer riding a motorcycle during a chase on Thursday (Oct 28) will be charged on Saturday.
Another Singaporean man, 22, who had rented the car involved in a traffic police chase was also nabbed on Thursday. He was arrested for allowing the driver to use the hired car without a valid licence.
The driver, a 37-year-old Singaporean man, as well as his male passenger, were arrested by the police on Thursday after trying to flee from a roadside check earlier on the same day.
For voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty, the driver faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine or caning.
The names of the three men were not disclosed by the police.
CAR CHASE FROM PAYA LEBAR TO GEYLANG
Station Inspector (SI) Abdul Hakim from the traffic police was patrolling near Upper Paya Lebar Road around 9.50am on Thursday when he signalled for the driver to stop his vehicle along the roadside to conduct a check.
Instead of complying with instructions, the driver sped off to evade the check, leading SI Hakim and other traffic police officers to give chase.
The pursuit came to a halt when the driver encountered traffic and SI Hakim managed to move ahead and stop the car.
However, the driver suddenly reversed and hit another officer, Senior Staff Sergeant (SSSgt) Haidil Osman, who was on a motorcycle. SSSgt Haidil was thrown off the motorbike and was hurt. He sustained cuts on his hands and bruises on his legs and wrist.
The scene of the crash was captured on a nearby vehicle’s dashboard camera and published online. The video then went viral.
Recounting the incident at a press conference on Friday, SI Hakim, 33, said that he had observed the driver of the car behaving suspiciously during his routine patrol.
“Initially, (the driver) was moving fast but when I reached him, he slowed down. So there were some tell-tale signs, which showed me he was behaving suspiciously.”
The driver then sped off after SI Hakim tried to approach him.
“Once he sped off, I knew from my instinct that he was trying to escape the police.”
Giving more details of the incident in a press release on Friday, the police said that during the pursuit, the driver was believed to have collided into the back of an unidentified vehicle along MacPherson Road before continuing to flee.
When the car turned into Geylang East Avenue 1, it came to a stop. It was at that time when SI Hakim moved ahead of the car to try to intercept it.
SI Hakim said that he had done so to prevent the driver from ramming into other cars in front and hurting a pedestrian who was crossing the road.
Unexpectedly, the driver reversed his car and knocked into his colleague, SSSgt Haidil.
When SSSgt Haidil showed a thumbs-up and told SI Hakim to “go, go, go”, SI Hakim continued to chase the driver. Several other officers later joined him in the chase.
The police said on Friday that SSSgt Haidil, 37, was able to jump off his motorcycle and avoid serious injuries.
They eventually found the car abandoned along Geylang East Central. However, the driver had fled the scene.
Instead, they found a 34-year-old passenger standing outside the car.
The police had to restrain the passenger who was allegedly raising his voice, yelling derogatory terms and pushing the officers at the scene.
He was eventually arrested for using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty and suspected drug-related offences.
In the meantime, police officers launched a manhunt to locate the driver. With the help of police cameras and video analytics, they were able to find him four hours after the incident and arrested him along Yishun Street 51.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Heng Chih Yang, Commander of the Bedok Police Division, said it was fortunate that SSSgt Haidil did not suffer more serious injuries.
“His training, experience and instinct to get out of harm's way saved his life,” he said at the press conference.
“The police take a serious view of any abuse or acts of violence towards police officers who are carrying out their duties. We will continue to take firm action against those who blatantly disregard the law and endanger the safety, public servants and other road users.”
