Man disrupts Ng Kok Song's Clementi walkabout, taken to IMH after lodging a police report himself

SINGAPORE: Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song's walkabout in Clementi Central was disrupted on Tuesday evening (Aug 29) when a man rode his bicycle into the crowd twice, shouting profanities and making threatening gestures.

This happened at around 7pm near Clementi Mall. 

The man later went to a neighbourhood police centre to lodge a report and was taken to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). The police said the 30-year-old man mentioned harming himself, and officers assessed that he posed a danger to himself.

Mr Ng was not hurt during the incident, his presidential team said in a statement.

"There are no plans to cancel Mr Ng's remaining walkabouts and activities on the final day of the campaign period," the team added. 

The man who disrupted the walkabout first appeared on a bicycle near the fountains next to Clementi Mall, wearing a red T-shirt.

At the time, Mr Ng was posing for photos with his fiancee Sybil Lau and members of the public. He had been speaking to residents for about 30 minutes after finishing an interview with reporters.

The man then rode his bicycle into the crowd.

Mr Ng's younger brother Charles Ng stepped between the presidential candidate and the man, and repeatedly gestured for him to leave while telling him that he was disrupting the walkabout. 

The man shouted for Mr Ng to "go home", made threatening gestures and hurled vulgarities. 

The younger Mr Ng and other members of the team stood in between the man and the presidential candidate and signalled to the public that the photo-taking session was off.

After a brief standoff, the man left the same way he came, and Mr Ng resumed taking photos with people who were still in line.

But the man returned and cycled into the crowd for the second time, and Mr Ng's team started to escort him towards Clementi Mall to leave the area.

The crowd who had initially gathered to see Mr Ng followed the man. He eventually stopped closer to Clementi Mall and shouted Mr Tan Kin Lian's name several times before riding his bicycle away. 

Police arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later.

Mr Ng's team told reporters that they had not filed a police report over the incident, adding that it was a concerned member of the public who did so.

Briefly speaking to reporters while waiting for the police, Mr Charles Ng said that the safety of the public was of the highest priority. Since the man would continue to be agitated if Mr Ng stayed there, they escorted Mr Ng away because they wanted to de-escalate the situation, he said.

The original plan for the walkabout was for Mr Ng to head towards Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre after concluding his interview, but he was held up by the members of the public who had crowded around wanting to take a photo with him. 

In response to CNA queries about whether he knew the man who disrupted the walkabout, Mr Tan Kin Lian said he had "no idea" who he was and suggested Mr Ng file a police report. 

Mr Tan's team added that if he was one of the candidate's supporters, he "acted on his own accord". 

"Mr Tan Kin Lian has been informed of an unfortunate incident involving a disruption to another candidate’s walkabout and hopes no one is hurt by this," the team said in a statement.

"He requests all his supporters to behave in a respectful manner to all candidates and members of the public."

MAN APPREHENDED, TAKEN TO IMH

Responding to CNA queries on Wednesday, the police said they had established the man's identity and searched for him after receiving calls for assistance.

At about 7.45pm, the man went to Clementi Neighbourhood Police Centre on his own to lodge a report about the incident. He mentioned harming himself and officers "assessed that he posed a danger to himself", the police said.

He was then apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act, and sent to IMH. His next-of-kin was informed of the matter, said the police. 

Police said investigations are ongoing.