A 43-year-old woman was caught on camera being restrained by the police at a traffic light stop near Ang Mo Kio Hub.
In a video that was shared on All Singapore Stuff Facebook page on Tuesday (15 Dec), a woman can be seen being apprehended by several police officers – all of whom are male.
Initially, the footage shows two police officers kneeling on the ground in attempt to restrain the woman.
Moments later, few other officers arrive at the scene to help restrain the woman.
The woman, who appears to be putting up some resistance, can be heard repeatedly shouting in Mandarin that the police officers are “beating” her.
The scuffle accompanied by the screams catches the attention of a couple of passers-by.
Two of them step forward to confront the police officers, calling them out for using excessive force, especially since they are dealing with a woman.
However, the officers explain that they wouldn’t be restraining the woman if she had been cooperative.
One of them can be heard saying that the woman was “being aggressive”, adding that “necessary force” was needed to control the situation.
Meanwhile, the video shows the police officers trying to calm the woman down by telling her that they are there to help her, yet she continues to struggle despite already been handcuffed.
Towards the end, a female officer can be spotted at the scene.
Watch the dramatic footage here.
The woman was arrested under the Mental Health Act
TOC has reached out to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for a comment on the incident.
The SPF replied saying that it is unable to comment on the case as “information related to investigations are confidential in nature”.
However, in response to queries by Mothership, the police said that they received a call for assistance at 4:43pm on Monday (14 Dec) in relation to a woman who was “believed to be of unsound mind and creating trouble”.
Upon arrival, the police attempted to engage the 43-year-old woman but she was being uncooperative.
They added that she also behaved in an “erratic and aggressive manner” near the road junction.
The police officers proceeded to restrain the woman for her safety as well as the safety of other road users.
Female police officers were dispatched to offer their assistance – as seen at the end of the video.
The woman was apprehended under Section 7 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
“Police officers have a duty to protect lives and property as well as to maintain peace and order. Male officers are allowed to apprehend women in the execution of their duties, without a female officer present,” the police told Mothership.