Man arrested for allegedly inciting PMD users to hurt people at Punggol Park
SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly inciting personal mobility device (PMD) users to hurt people, said the police on Wednesday (1 January).
Police said they were notified on 30 December that a Telegram user had posted in chat groups calling for PMD users to gather at Punggol Park at 9pm that day and to “cause injury to anyone they see”.
After establishing the man’s identity, officers from Ang Mo Kio Division arrested him at 10am on 31 December. Two mobile phones were seized in the process.
Investigations against the man are ongoing, the police added. Those convicted of making an electronic record containing an incitement to violence face up to 5 years’ jail, a fine, or both.
With effect from 5 November last year, e-scooters were banned from being used along pedestrian footpaths following an increase in accidents involving the devices and pedestrians.
The move sparked an outcry among food delivery riders who relied on e-scooters for their work. Three days after the ban was imposed, the government announced a new $7 million grant to food delivery riders switch their e-scooters to other devices, such as power-assisted bicycles.
While the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had allowed for an “advisory period” in which e-scooter riders were only issued warnings for flouting the new regulations, those caught using PMDs on footpaths from 1 January will face fines of up to $2,000 along with possible jail terms of up to three months.
More Singapore stories:
MOM to update framework protecting Singaporeans from discriminatory hiring practices: Josephine Teo
