Shirtless man in Bedok arrested after running around shouting at strangers

The appearance of gun-toting Emergency Response Team (ERT) officers certainly caused quite a hubbub at Bedok over the weekend.

The reason for their deployment? A lone man who was running amok and shouting at passersby.

The man, 39, was arrested at Heartbeat@Bedok on Saturday afternoon (Oct 17) under the Mental Health Act, the police confirmed.

ERT officers were deployed after the police received a call for assistance regarding the man, who was suspected of having a dangerous weapon.

But a physical search of the man, who was not identified, did not yield any weapons, police said.

The man had started shouting and running around Block 205 Bedok North Street 1, eyewitnesses told Lianhe Wanbao.

He was "very worked up", one eyewitness said in Mandarin.

"He even ran up to me and stared at me, asking, 'Why are you targeting him?' I was very taken aback and had a big fright."

The man then took off towards Bedok Bus Interchange, where he continued yelling for at least 15 minutes.

His next stop was Heartbeat@Bedok, where he was arrested after a member of the public called the police.

Footage of the man's arrest was shared online, showing multiple police officers pinning the shirtless man against a wall.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXHV3i5tE2A[/embed]

The man stripped his shirt off in protest while the officers were trying to apprehend him, another eyewitness told the Chinese daily, adding that the man struggled as he was led to the police car and kept trying to shake the officers off.

There were no injuries in relation to the incident, the police said.

This was reportedly not the first time the man has caused a commotion, multiple workers in the area claimed.

One, an employee at a handphone shop, alleged the man had hurled vulgarities at the staff of a nearby fast food shop a mere two days ago.

According to an employee at one coffee shop, the man would also scold them and swear at them without provocation. 

kimberlylim@asiaone.com