Former Cheers worker to be charged with harassment, being uncooperative with police
A 29-year-old man will be charged on Wednesday with harassment and being uncooperative during investigations, the police said on Tuesday night.
The police said they were alerted on Jan 1 at about 8.10pm to a dispute between a customer and a man who was working at a convenience store in Raffles Quay.
Videos of the incident circulating on social media showed the store to be a Cheers outlet.
The man had insulted the customer, investigations showed, and was uncooperative when the police arrived.
He challenged the officers who had asked to see his identity card, and had also used his mobile phone to record a video of his exchange with the officers.
After the incident, the man allegedly uploaded six videos on social media, purportedly identifying the police officer by name.
The man also allegedly included captions in the videos which were abusive and demeaning to the police officers.
Cheers later told the outlet’s franchisee to dismiss the man, reported citizen journalism website Stomp.
During police investigations, the man was told to attend an interview at a police station but did not turn up. He also failed to assist in investigations after the police issued on Jan 11 and 31 written orders for him to do so.
He will be charged on Wednesday with four offences:
- Using insulting words to cause harassment. If found guilty, he can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
- Using abusive words towards a public servant, which is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, jail term of up to 12 months, or both.
- Publishing the identity information of the public servant to deter in the lawful discharge of his duties. The conviction carries a fine of up to $5,000, jail for up to 12 months, or both.
- Two counts of failure to attend in obedience to order from a public servant. If found guilty, he can be jailed for up to a month, fined up to $1,500, or both.
The police said they take a stern view of abusive behaviours and disobedience to the lawful order from public servants who are carrying out their public duties. They added: “Firm actions will be taken to deal with such offenders in accordance with the law.”
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