Bentley driver, who forced his way into Red Swastika School, arrested

A 61-year-old man has been arrested after an incident outside Red Swastika School where he was caught on camera trying to force his way into a school and threatening to run down its staff on Tuesday morning (Jan 11).

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the police said they were alerted to the incident at Bedok North Avenue 3 at around 11.40am.

The Ministry of Education said earlier that it is looking into an incident involving a driver who threatened to run down a security officer at the school.

The 61-year-old driver was arrested for rash act causing hurt.

Police said the 62-year-old security officer sustained minor injuries, adding that investigations are ongoing.

A video circulating on social media showed the driver inching his Bentley forward a few times, pushing the security personnel back despite being stopped from entering the primary school in Bedok.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he was aware of the video showing "a driver trying to enter a school and even using his car to engage in dangerous manoeuvres against a security officer and a school staff".

Calling this unacceptable behaviour, Mr Chan said his ministry will not hesitate to make a police report if warranted.

The minister added: "As adults, we should set a positive example for our children in how we treat others with respect, and abide by the rules that are in place for the collective security of our school community."

In the video,  a Bentley driver and his passenger tried to force their way into a school despite not being authorised to enter the premises.

Stomper Lenny shared a video of the incident that occurred at Red Swastika School, located along Bedok North Avenue 3, at around 7.10am on Tuesday morning (Jan 11).

Lenny said: "A male driver, aged 50-60, driving a Bentley insisted on entering Red Swastika School without a valid car label and threatened to run down the security guard.

"He moved forward a few times to push the guard with his car and shouted until one of the teachers gave up and told the guard to let him in."

In the video, a passenger from the Bentley can be seen arguing with another man who is believed to be a staff member of the school.

Meanwhile, the Bentley inches forward despite a security guard standing right in front of it.

The passenger then gets back into the car, which continues moving forward despite the staff member and the security guard trying to stop it.

The security guard can be seen being forced backwards and stumbling.

Traffic was apparently held up for around 15 minutes until the Bentley was allowed into the school.

Lenny, who said he was submitting the video on behalf of the person who captured it, added: "I feel that the driver is really disrespectful towards the school staff by insisting on driving in and inconsiderate to other parents who are dropping off their children. He is causing delays and inconvenience to other road users as well."

Union of Security Employees (USE) general secretary Raymond Chin, 39, told The Straits Times that the union is in contact with the security officer, who had been working with the school for close to three years.

Mr Chin said: "He said that his knee was painful and has been issued a three-day medical certificate after a medical checkup."

He added that the incident occurred at around 7.30am, which is the usual rush hour for parents to drop pupils off at the school.

USE executive secretary Steve Tan, 48, called the incident "deplorable".

Mr Tan told The Straits Times that the security officer had refused entry to the vehicle as it did not have a valid pass to enter the school.

"He had even gone to the extent of standing in front of the vehicle to prevent its entry as the driver refused to obey the instructions," said Mr Tan.

"The union is very disturbed by this case of physical abuse. It is particularly egregious given that a car was involved.

"There's quite a fair bit of anger from the community and on social media because of how the driver had endangered the security officer's life."

The union has since filed a police report on the incident.

Another video of the incident has emerged, which shows the Bentley driver arguing with the security guard. The man said it was his first time going into the school and that the queue to go in was too long and the security guard should make an exception to allow him in.

You can watch the video here.