SMRT suspends station staff member after video of man pushing skateboarder at Esplanade station
Screengrabs from a video circulating on social media showing a man pushing a skateboarder at the entrance of Esplanade station on Aug 20, 2021.
SINGAPORE: SMRT has suspended a station staff member after a video emerged showing a man pushing a person riding a skateboard at Esplanade MRT station.
The incident took place at about 10.25pm on Friday (Aug 20), said the transport operator in a Facebook post, adding that it is assisting TransCom police officers with investigations.
"A station staff saw the person skateboarding within the station and told him that skateboarding is not permitted within station premises for the safety of commuters," said SMRT in its post on Saturday.
"When the staff saw that the person was skateboarding towards the stairs which other commuters were also using, the staff ran towards the person to stop him from doing so."
A video posted on Reddit showed a skateboarder exiting the station. As the person rode towards the stairs, a man in a red jacket was seen running towards him, knocking him off the skateboard and causing him to fall backwards.
In response to CNA's queries, the police said they are looking into a case of criminal force, adding that a 36-year-old man is assisting in investigations.
"We are sorry that our staff overreacted," said SMRT. "He has been suspended from duties and will be supporting investigations."
