Man shoves SMRT staff at Lakeside MRT station after commuter allegedly caught him vaping

A man was caught on camera shoving an SMRT staff at Lakeside MRT station.

A Mothership reader shared the footage of the incident, which showed the man apparently engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with at least two staff.

According to the reader, the incident took place on Aug. 10 at 12:15pm.

Erratic behaviour

The reader added that the man being stopped was apparently walking erratically, and the staff were trying to prevent him from exiting the station.

In a second video by the same reader, the SMRT staff could be seen speaking to the man, who appeared to be listening to them.

Allegedly used a vape

In response to Mothership's queries, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai, said a commuter informed the station staff that a male individual was allegedly using a vape on the network.

The SMRT staff then located the man, escorted him off the train and handed him over to the authorities.

Acted aggressively

During the incident, the man had acted aggressively towards the SMRT staff, pushing them and attempting to take back his vape, Lam added.

"Our staff responded appropriately in self-defence, while maintaining public order and ensuring the safety of other commuters," Lam said.

A Notice of Offence (NOO) was issued to the man for his behaviour and breaching the SMRT network regulations.

Those issued an NOO are expected to comply with the instructions and pay the required penalty.

Lam said: "SMRT takes such unlawful behavious seriously, and we strongly encourage commuters who witness similar incidents to report them to our staff immediately."

The issue of etomidate-laced e-vaporiser abuse has been in the news in recent weeks.

Top photos via Gordon