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24 year old David Chan Wei Peng was given seven days of jail and fined $1,400 on Friday (28 Jan) for swinging his e-scooter at a LTA enforcement officer on 4 March 2021.
He was caught by the LTA officer for illegally riding his e-scooter on the footpath while he was on the way to Yishun North Neighbourhood Police Centre for his reservist.
He was a Police NSMan.
He will start his sentence after Chinese New Year, on 7 February 2022.
Three charges were brought against him and they include a count of using criminal force against a public servant and two charges which is under the Active Mobility Act of 2017.
What happened
Chan was riding his e-scooter which was not UL-2272 certified at the footpath along Gambas Avenue, Sembawang at 8:30am in the morning.
E-scooters which are classified under Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) were already banned from the footpath since 3 April 2020.
Three LTA officers were inside an unmarked van when they spotted Chan and they parked the vehicle at the side of the road to take enforcement action against him.
One of the officers, Yeo Ying Xuan went to Chan and showed him his LTA pass and demanded him to stop riding.
Chan attempted to U-turn in a bid to flee, but Yeo grabbed on to his backpack resulting in a little fight which caused Yeo to suffer an abrasion on his left arm.
Yeo’s colleagues then came down from the van to assist him to handle Chan, but Chan swung his e-scooter at Yeo’s direction.
He then ran away as the other officer was approaching, dropping his e-scooter on the floor.
They finally managed to restrain him across the road after a short chase.
Unrepresented in court
A jail term was sought by the prosecutor who noted that even though the e-scooter did not hit the officer, the risk of potential harm was there.
Chan was not represented in court and pleaded for only a fine with no jail term.
Penalties
He could have been jailed up to four years and/or fined for using criminal force against a public servant.
Up to three months jail term and/or a fine of up to $5,000 could have been given to him for riding a PMD which is not UL-2272 certified as it is a safety regulation that reduces the risk of the PMD catching fire.
Up to three months jail term and/or a fine of up to $1,000 could have been given to him for failing to comply with an enforcement officer in uniform orders to stop.
Image source: Unsplash.com