A 34 year old Portuguese video editor, Carlos Eduardo Da-Cruz Ferreira, was sentenced to one month’s’ imprisonment for causing hurt to deter a public servant in carrying out his work.
An additional charge for verbally abusing the Police officer was taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.
In June 2014, Ferreira had been heavily drunk and was sleeping in the back of a taxi when the taxi driver stopped and asked Police officers at road block at Bukit Batok East Avenue 3 to ask Ferreira for his address.
After trying in vain to wake him up by calling out to him, Police officer Sergeant Mushawwir Adrus tapped Ferreira on his shoulder which woke him up.
When the Police officers identified themselves and asked Ferreira for his address, Ferreira punched Sergeant Mushawwir’s right eye.
Subsequently, when Sergeant Mushawwir restrained Ferreira by his and asked him where he lived, Ferreira kicked Sergeant Mushawwir in his lower abdomen.
Sergeant Mushawwir’s contact lens was dislodged by the assault and he received medical treatment at Alexandra Hospital.
While the Prosecution asked the Court to send a consistent signal that violence towards Police officers would not be condoned, Ferreira’s criminal defence lawyer asked for the Court to understand that Ferreira suffered from depressive and anxiety disorders and he had acted in the offending manner because he was drunk – the Court was also told that Ferreira was undergoing therapy for his alcohol dependence.
More information on the case may be found here.