The police has issued the following statement from the Singapore Police on the incident at the Thaipusam procession in Serangoon Road on Tuesday.
You can view a video of the fracas here.
Here is the police statement:
“During the Thaipusam procession on 3 February 2015 at about 6.50pm, Thaipusam organisers requested a group of people to stop playing drums at the junction of Serangoon Road and Desker Road, as doing so contravened the conditions of the police permit for the event. However, the group was not cooperative and police were called in.
When police officers were speaking to the group, a 33-year-old man from a separate group came forward and confronted the police officers in a rowdy manner. Despite numerous warnings to calm down, he persisted with his disorderly behaviour and was placed under arrest. While one of our officers was effecting the arrest of the man, another two men, aged 32 and 28, came forward to stop the arrest, with the 32-year-old assaulting three officers in the process.
The three men, all Singaporeans, also used vulgarities against the officers. All three men were believed to have been drinking earlier as they smelt strongly of alcohol. They have been arrested and investigations are ongoing. One injured police officer was conveyed conscious to TTSH and is in stable condition.
The prohibition of musical instruments during processions is not a new requirement and has already been in place since 1973. Police have disallowed the use of music during procession to deter public disorder which may be caused by rivalries between groups and to minimize the impact of the procession along the procession route.
Police would like to appeal for witnesses of the incident to come forward to provide more information.”
