S'pore man, 58, attacked, cursed & spat at 5 people as he couldn't find his way to new workplace

One taxi driver, two passersby and two police officers.

Ruth Chai | November 17, 2023, 06:13 PM

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After getting lost on the way to his new workplace, a 58-year-old man grew frustrated and attacked, cursed, and spat on five individuals, including police officers.

He was subsequently arrested on Jun. 26, 2023, and charged the next day.

Mohd Anwar Abdul Ghani was sentenced to jail for 60 weeks and five days on Nov. 15, 2023, with an additional six days for committing the offences while on a remission order.

He faced a total of 21 charges, including voluntarily causing hurt to public servants, using criminal force to obstruct public servants from performing their duties, voluntarily causing hurt to others, and violating the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).

He admitted to 13 charges, with the rest taken into consideration during sentencing, reported Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min).

Tried to get into an occupied taxi

The incident took place on Jun. 26, 2023.

Videos on Facebook showed his antics, including kicking a taxi and brandishing his clenched fists at a passerby.

The court heard that Anwar had been attempting to find his new workplace.

Unable to do so, he grew increasingly frustrated and jumped in front of a yellow taxi on Sims Avenue at 6:47 am, obstructing traffic.

The taxi driver, a 60-year-old man, had to brake abruptly.

Anwar got into the taxi and demanded that the driver take him to Lorong J Telok Kurau.

This was even though there were already passengers in the taxi.

Slapped taxi driver's hand

The taxi driver refused and took out his cell phone to call the police.

Anwar then slapped the driver's phone out of his hand, prompting the driver to drive to a police station as he was worried about the passengers' safety.

However, when they approached the police station, Anwar alighted from the taxi and walked towards Chai Chee Road.

Chased one woman up a bus and attacked her

At a bus stop near Decathlon, Anwar asked a 31-year-old woman for directions, but the woman didn't have an answer.

Anwar became agitated, grabbed the woman's bag and dragged her towards a road intersection.

When she screamed for help, Anwar punched her right eye, causing them both to fall to the ground.

The woman took the opportunity to escape and entered a bus, with Anwar following closely behind.

On the bus, he assaulted the woman again and used a bottle to hit her head.

She exited the bus and entered another bus to shake him off.

Anwar then somehow ended up at Lorong L Telok Kurau, where he attacked another 17-year-old woman, who called the police.

Attacked two police officers

Police officers caught up to him after multiple people called the police.

A 36-year-old police officer tried to arrest Anwar and led him into a police car, but the man yelled, swore, kicked and spat at the officer.

He also spat at another police officer.

Judge reminded him to control his temper in the future

During court proceedings, Anwar pleaded for leniency, citing that he had two children aged 17 and 18 at home.

The children were taken care of by his mother, as his ex-wife had returned to her hometown while he was on remand.

After delivering the sentence, the judge reminded Anwar to control his temper in the future and not to use violence.

Top photo via SG Road Vigilante