Man punches Bangladeshi cleaner in MacPherson
A Bangladeshi cleaner was punched in the chest on Thursday by a man who in the past had harassed and broken the brooms of the town council workers, said MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling.
In a post on social media site Instagram late on Thursday night, Ms Tin said the man was likely drunk when he attacked the worker.
She said: “This man, likely intoxicated, then decided to hunt down one of the other cleaners and punched him in the chest.”
The incident happened at about 11am on Thursday at the void deck of Block 87 Circuit Road, NRT Trading and Engineering managing director Sakthivelan Nararajah told The Straits Times on Friday.
Mr Sakthivelan’s firm is a contractor hired by Marine Parade Town Council.
In the video clip, seen standing next to Ms Tin is Bangladeshi worker Babul, 48, who goes by one name. It was his son Ahammed Siyam, 20, who was punched by the man.
Father and son work together as cleaners for the town council, said Ms Tin. Mr Babul, a site supervisor, has worked for Marine Parade Town Council for many years, she added.
Mr Babul in the video said the man, whose identity is not known, punched his son just out of the blue when he was walking in the estate. His son went to see a doctor after the attack.
“I so very sad,” he said, adding that his heart ached for his son.
Mr Babul added that it was not the first time he had asked the man to stop harassing the cleaners but the man would still break and throw away things like their brooms and mops.
Mr Sakthivelan said the man, who looked to be in his 60s, had harassed two other cleaners since October 2022 but the police were not involved previously because things did not get violent.
He added that the man would usually hang around the estate and drink beer. He would then verbally abuse cleaners by hurling vulgarities at them.
The cleaners would usually just avoid the man or ignore him, he added.
Mr Sakthivelan said: “Babul has been working with me for more than 10 years. If our cleaners were unfairly treated, he would always voice it out.”
Mr Sakthivelan, who is his manager and helped to translate for Mr Babul, added that the father was sad because he and his son came all the way from Bangladesh to earn a living, and they’re just trying their best to serve the residents.
Ms Tin, who appeared dismayed in the video clip, said violence should not be condoned.
She added that Mr Babul is a dedicated and friendly worker. During the live stream, residents posted comments attesting to his hardworking nature.
Ms Tin said: “If there are things that we need to improve, let us know. But to attack the workers, knowing that they are very worried about getting into trouble and will try to stay away from attention at all cost - I think that’s not right...
“Hopefully, we can all work together to create a kinder society and prevent such incidents from happening again.”
She added that residents should respect workers who are helping to serve MacPherson.
She also said the police are aware of the incident and investigations are underway.
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