Punched and set on fire: When politics got dangerous in Singapore

Being a public figure in Singapore is not an easy job.

As a Member of Parliament (MP), besides Meet-the-People sessions (pre-circuit breaker) and ensuring that their constituents' concerns are heard, the job also comes with inherent risks. It's not just a war of words and sometimes, the dangers are real.

In the past few years, there have been physical attacks on Singapore MPs, and here is what we know about them.

Punches thrown

In 2006, then-Yio Chu Kang MP Seng Han Thong was assaulted at a Meet-the-People Session (MPS). A 74-year-old former taxi driver had punched Seng in anger after perceiving that Seng had not helped to regain his revoked taxi licence.

The cab driver later apologised to Seng and the charges were dropped, according to Lianhe Zaobao. However, this is not the only incidence where punches were thrown at an MP.

Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Tan Wu Meng was attacked by a 32-year-old man during his MPS as well, in April 2018.

According to Channel NewsAsia, a video captured the incident whereby the man walked towards Tan while he was speaking to another resident, grabbed him in a chokehold and slammed him against a wall, before yanking him to his knees.

The court heard that the man was at the MPS to request for assistance on a matrimonial issue. He had also punched and kicked Tan repeatedly, who subsequently suffered bruises on his arm and abrasions on his neck.

However, after a formal medical evaluation at the A&E, Tan was able to continue his duties and return to the MPS to finish writing appeal letters for his residents. In a Facebook post, he also mentioned that he had written an appeal for his attacker on the night of the incident.

The man who attacked Tan pleaded guilty to the assault charge and was sentenced to three months’ jail.

Narrow escape from knife attack

MP of Jalan Besar GRC Lily Neo recounted a stabbing attempt back in 2014, when a man in a wheelchair had waited by the lift in her Kreta Ayer ward with a bag filled with urine and a knife hidden in his bag.

In an interview with The New Paper, she explained that a volunteer had told her to take the stairs instead of the lift due to security issues. She later found out that a man had planned to splash her with urine, and while she was distracted, stab her.

The man in his 50s confessed to being angry after not being able to obtain a rental flat, and said there were voices in his head telling him to attack Neo.

Neo was reported to be so shaken by the incident, "she had nightmares for days". Since then, she tries to make sure that there is always someone with her when she attends her MPS and prefers for residents to leave their bags outside during the sessions.

She also declined to press charges against the man, who was later placed in a nursing home. 

Splashed with paint thinner and set on fire

After the incident of being punched in 2006, then-Yio Chu Kang MP Seng Han Thong suffered yet another attack in 2009. He had paint thinner splashed down his back and was set on fire in one of the most serious attacks on an MP.

The assailant was a 70-year-old man who was angry at not being given a Chinese New Year ang bao, Reuters reported.

Seng suffered burns to roughly 10 to 15 per cent of his body after the attack, which happened during a grassroots event in his constituency. A witness also said that "half of Mr Seng's hair was burnt and his back suffered burns as well".

However, Seng managed to recover from the incident after undergoing a skin graft operation at the Singapore General Hospital. Using skin from his thighs, doctors were able to apply skin grafts on his face, arms and chest.

His attacker was a former cab driver who had been in a mental clinic in the months prior to the incident, reported The Straits Times. He was later charged in court for causing grievous hurt and placed in remand at the Institute of Mental Health.

trining@asiaone.com