Weekend, July 22, 2006
Elderly man arrested for hitting MP
AN elderly man was arrested for punching Member of Parliament Seng
Han Thong on Thursday evening and leaving him with a bruised
lip.
.
The punch came during Mr Seng's meet-the-people session, when the
Chinese man a former taxi driver came to seek the Yio Chu Kang
MP's help to reinstate his terminated taxi contract.
.
When it was his turn to see the MP, he reportedly raised his voice
at Mr Seng and stunned those present by hitting him.
.
In a statement, the police said it received a call for assistance
at about 9.35pm on Thursday. And when its officers arrived, the
staff at Ang Mo Kio's Community & Education Centre where the
session was conducted had already detained the man, who is in his
70s.
.
Mr Seng had "suffered a bruised lip and had declined medical
attention", the police added. The man, who was arrested for
assaulting a public servant, cannot be named as the case is under
investigation.
.
Today understands that the 74-year-old man, who is currently out on
bail, was formerly a taxi driver with ComfortDelGro and was unhappy
with the company for terminating his contract.
.
When contacted, ComfortDelGro spokesperson Tammy Tan confirmed that
the man's contract was terminated in February 2002 for "rude
behaviour and for a threat made against a customer".
.
Said Ms Tan: "As (he) is no longer a hirer with the company, we are
not able to go into details about the case. We however stand by our
decision to terminate him based on the threats he made to the
customer in a letter he wrote."
.
On the assault, Ms Tan added: "The police is currently
investigating the matter and we are rendering them all
assistance."
.
Mr Seng is currently in Shanghai on business. When contacted, the
divisonal director for the National Trades Union Congress'
administration and research unit told Today that he was "all right"
but declined to comment further. Nonetheless, he said that he was
not unduly shaken by the assault.
.
"I continued meeting the residents until around 11pm and then went
to board my flight at midnight," he added.
.
Loh Chee Kong
