Man slaps boy, 13, after their bicycles collide in Tampines, police investigating

A man was accused of slapping a 13-year-old boy and cursing at him after their bicycles collided at the junction of Tampines Avenue 7 and Tampines Avenue 12 on May 2 evening.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the boy's father, surnamed Qiu (transliteration), said he had since lodged a police report about the incident.

Qiu also appealed for more footage of the incident so that he could identify the man and asked him to apologise to Qiu's son.

Incident caught on camera

The scene of the incident was caught on a dashboard camera of a vehicle passing by the junction.

The footage was subsequently uploaded to Facebook.

According to the video timestamp, the incident took place at around 5:44pm on May 2.

In the footage, the boy appeared to encounter some difficulties with his bicycle, as he could be seen using his feet to push his bicycle forward towards the other side of the road.

At the same time, a male cyclist, who was wearing a blue shirt, was cycling in the opposite direction, towards the boy.

Upon seeing the boy, the male cyclist stopped midway.

When their bicycles collided, the man smacked the boy.

After the slap, the boy glanced at the man before continuing his journey.

The male cyclist could be seen looking at the boy for a few seconds before cycling away.

Qiu's account of what happened

Qiu told Shin Min that at the time of the incident, his son was out cycling with his friend.

Before the collision, which Qiu described as "an accident", his son had apparently already braked.

After he was slapped, the boy continued to cycle to the other side of the road because the traffic light would be turning red soon.

"[My son and his friend] were terrified, and my son's friend called me immediately afterwards," recounted Qiu.

Boy traumatised by incident

Qiu shared with Shin Min that while he was at Bedok bus interchange when he received the call from his son's friend, he immediately took a taxi and rushed to the scene.

When he saw his son's swollen left ear, Qiu notified the police and brought his son to the hospital for examination.

"Fortunately, the doctor said the injury was nothing serious and was just bruises," said Qiu.

Nevertheless, Qiu said his son was traumatised by the incident.

"My son said he kept having nightmares and would dream about what transpired. He also could not sleep well at night," said Qiu.

As a result, Qiu's son caught a cold and a fever, causing him to skip school for two days.

Police investigating

Although there was footage of the incident, Qiu shared that he could not identify the male cyclist as the video did not clearly capture the cyclist's face, reported Shin Min.

As such, Qiu hoped that those who have footage of the male cyclist can contact him or submit it to the police.

In response to Shin Min's queries, the Singapore Police Force confirmed that a police report was lodged.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top image via SGRV/Facebook