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On Nov. 27, an off-duty police officer was seen guiding traffic in Serangoon Central after a pedestrian had wandered onto the road.

In response to queries by Mothership, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) identified the police officer as Joycelyn Ng.

Barefoot man with unsteady movements

Ng works at the Frontline Policing Division in the Operations Department of SPF.

The 31-year-old was driving past Serangoon Central at around 10:45pm.

She first noticed the man while her car was stationary at the traffic light junction.

He was walking barefooted across the adjacent road when the traffic light was not in his favour, she told Mothership.

According to Ng, the man appeared to be in his 40s and was wearing a black singlet and trousers.

She noted that his movements were unsteady and assessed that he was likely under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Although he was relatively large, it did not deter Ng, who was off-duty at that time, from intervening.

She shared that she decided to intervene because she recognised that the man was in a dangerous situation.

"He was walking unsteadily on the two-lane road and vehicles were trying to avoid him. I was worried that if I did not intervene, he may have been injured by other vehicles. At the same time, his unpredictable movements could have caused drivers who were trying to avoid him to swerve or brake suddenly, which may result in a traffic accident."

Ng also added that she had to help the man up when he laid on the road at one point.

Called '999' before attempting to hold him back

Despite her decision to intervene, she was wary that he might behave in an unpredictable manner and might assault her if she approached him too aggressively.

Her first response was to call '999' for assistance, she said, before attempting to hold him back from running onto the road.

However, she admitted that his much larger stature made it difficult for her to hold him back for long.

Unperturbed by this setback, she decided to help in a different way.

While waiting for the on-duty officers to arrive, Ng was guiding the traffic for about 10 minutes to ensure the safety of the man and other road users by signalling to the oncoming vehicles to slow or change lanes to avoid running into him.

The police officer noted that the drivers of the oncoming vehicles were all very alert, which made it easier for her to control the traffic.

When the officers from Serangoon Neighbourhood Police Centre arrived, they assisted in bringing the man to safety before interviewing him.

"I believe that any police officer would have done the same if they come across this situation. As a police officer, our duty is to protect lives and property, on or off-duty," Ng said, adding that she did not expect that a video of the incident would surface and attract media attention.

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