Despicable! – another case of a security officer being abused has been uncovered. This precedes a case earlier in July 2022, where a security officer was punched in the face for asking a supermarket patron to put on his mask before entering the premises.
This recently uncovered case involved Ms. Kavitha Sandresekeran, a security officer at the Skysuites 17 condominium which is located at Jalan Rajah.
Abuser Allegedly Drove Over Her Foot
Kavitha was doing her due diligence, inspecting the identities of individuals driving into the condominium premises. The abuser honked at her multiple times and insisted he was a resident in the condominium despite not having a transponder in the vehicle, which all registered vehicles of the condominium must have.
The abuser then drove over Kavitha’s foot while she was still verifying his identity. More infuriatingly, he continued to verbally abuse her after injuring her foot. Kavitha’s employer subsequently made a police report and sent her to the hospital to do a check-up and x-ray on her foot.
Luckily, Kavitha’s injury was manageable for her, and she is back at work.
Simply Infuriating and Unacceptable
Abuse – regardless of who, or what it is directed towards, is not acceptable. Every human being deserves to have a safe working environment.
The Union of Security Employees (USE) voiced that it will continue to protect its members and workers and call out abuse cases, and make sure the perpetrators of abuse are dealt with within the limits of Singapore’s laws.
USE reflected that just in 2022 alone, it has already handled 21 cases of abuse, which is two times more than the total number of cases (9) it handled in 2021.
Security officers are highly encouraged to report all cases of abuse through USE’s mobile application or drop an email to USE at use@ntuc.org.sg . No abuse case should be considered too “small” or “insignificant.” As a nation, we need to stand firm and ensure such cases are appropriately dealt with, to prevent perpetrators from getting away with their despicable acts without consequences.
Private Security Industry (Amendment) Bill
In October 2021, a Bill was passed in Parliament to expand the scope of offences and tougher penalties for those who harass, assault, or hurt security officers on duty.
Under this bill, the penalties are harsher than harassment and assault cases against members of the public. Offenders who assault and use criminal force against security officers may be jailed up to two years or fined up to S$7,500 or both.
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A young Singaporean concerned about issues workers face. As humans, we spend a third of our lives sleeping and recharging, and another third for our personal life, and the last third at work (based on a 24-hr distribution). That’s why we should pay attention to issues surrounding work.
