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A 33-year-old Singaporean Indian will be charged in court for the offence of public nuisance following his involvement in an attack at East Coast Park.

In a press release on July 3, the police said they will be charging the man, with a view to seek an order from the court to remand the man for psychiatric assessment.

What happened

The police said that they received a call for assistance at Carpark F2 of East Coast Park on July 2, at 1:50am.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a man allegedly shouted racist remarks against two different groups of Chinese men and assaulted one of them.

Speaking to Mothership, the mother of the 21-year-old man, Teo, who had been attacked and verbally abused by the suspect, said that it was the first time her son had experienced such an unprovoked attack.

Teo, a first-year undergraduate at a local university, had been night cycling with three other friends and was just about to head home when the incident happened.

As they were loading their bicycles onto a van, they heard the man hurling vulgarities at them, calling them "Chinese dogs" and asking them to "go back to China".

Teo subsequently suffered two punches on his face, and was kicked in his abdomen when he approached the man to ask him to stop and leave them alone.

Teo's mother added that a police report was made and the aggressor left about five minutes before the arrival of the police.

In the press release, the police confirmed that when officers arrived, the suspect was no longer at the scene.

They added that a 21-year-old man was conveyed to the hospital in a conscious state, and was given outpatient treatment.

Arrest

The police said the 33-year-old man was subsequently identified and arrested through investigations.

The man will also be investigated for the offence of uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the racial feelings of any person, voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment.

The offence of public nuisance carries an imprisonment term of up to three months, a fine of up to S$2,000, or both.

The offence of uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the racial feelings of any person carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.

Those found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

Those convicted of intentionally causing harassment can be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

The police said that it will take "strong action against those who commit acts that harm racial harmony in Singapore".

Top image courtesy of Teo's mother