Over the weekend, a Facebook post by Choo Kah Ying, the mother of Sebastien, a 20-year-old autistic teen, went viral. She recounted an incident at Bishan Park, which ended in her son being handcuffed and put into a police car for the first time, “not because he committed a crime, but because of fear and poor judgment”.
The pair were at the park on Saturday morning to skate. Along the way, Sebastien ran over to a truck to open and close its doors — one of his “obsessions” that Choo found difficult to stop. But the workers gathered nearby didn’t mind and smiled reassuringly at her.
Two hours later, when Sebastien took longer than usual to return after his skating lap, Choo received a phone call from the police notifying her that her son had been detained. Apparently, a couple had witnessed him opening vehicle doors at the carpark and contacted the cops. When they approached Sebastien, he moved away. So they attempted to grab him, which prompted an aggressive reaction that ended in handcuffs for him.
“Given the fact that Sebastien had not committed any crime, the police’s decision to grab him was completely out of line,” Choo wrote. They claimed to be unaware of his special needs, and Choo voiced her frustration about how the situation was dealt with.
Most of the comments on social media were sympathetic, with some urging people to look at both sides and not be too quick to judge the actions of the police.
Choo subsequently posted an update on her son’s situation, and later shared more on her experience and the challenges she faced as a parent taking care of an autistic son through the years. She also highlighted her desire to raise awareness on this issue and gave a shout out “especially to the valiant and self-sacrificing parents who are the primary caregivers of their children with special needs”.
