'We had enough': Fed up Punggol residents call cops over raucous teens, including one for kicking lift

Frustrated over a group of teenagers who have been reportedly terrorising their neighbourhood for months, several residents in Punggol decided to take matters into their own hands.

Shin Min Daily News reported that several residents confronted one of the boys near the playground under Block 226A Sumang Lane on Tuesday (Aug 13), with their latest antics causing tensions to boil over.

Speaking to the Chinese evening daily, a resident, who declined to be named, said that she took the lift with the four teenagers last Saturday.

But after stepping out on the second floor, they kicked the lift before it was completely closed, scaring the woman.

"They kicked the lift hard and it made a loud noise," she said. "When the lift went to the third floor, its door opened. I was scared and I quickly got out of the lift. Many residents went to see what had happened."

The woman said that she was lucky that she was not trapped in the lift, and her young children were not with her at that time.

She added that her husband became angry after telling him what had happened.

"We didn't call the police at the time, but we just felt that we needed to talk to the teenagers," she said.

44-year-old assisting in investigations: Police

On Tuesday evening, the female resident's husband happened to come across one of the boys involved in the incident.

However, the boy ran away after he was approached, causing him to fall and scrape his knees.

The resident said that her husband had chased the boy and pulled his clothes.

"If he didn't do that, how could we have caught and talked to him?" she added.

The teenagers' parents reportedly later arrived at Sumang Lane and engaged in a heated dispute with the residents. The neighbourhood committee then called the police.

When a reporter arrived at the scene, he saw a boy sitting on a stretcher with a bandage on his right knee.

Several residents said that he and three other teenagers had been causing trouble to the neighbourhood for more than half a year.

Some of them do not live in the estate.

Their antics reportedly included climbing the roof of HDB flats and spitting at a passer-by walking below.

Shin Min also reported in July that the teens also played football and rode scooters on the rooftop of a multi-storey car park.

"We had enough," said the fed-up residents.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that they were alerted to an alleged dispute on Tuesday (Aug 13) at about 6.45pm in Block 226A Sumang Lane.

They added that a 12-year-old boy sustained minor injuries but did not require medical attention, and a 44-year-old man is assisting in investigations for criminal force against a person under 14.

Police investigations are ongoing. 

READ ALSO: Throwing slippers and pouring water: Teenagers film themselves harassing drunk man at HDB void deck

chingshijie@asiaone.com