A suspect was arrested yesterday in the merciless assault of a train commuter that, while caught on tape, went ignored by other commuters.
The police announced yesterday that they had arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of public nuisance and voluntarily causing hurt after being alerted to the assault that had taken place around 10:15am.
The brutality of the attack shocked Singaporeans who watched it unfold in footage filmed by another passenger. It shows a man using his fists, elbows and knees to pummel the victim, later said to be a 24-year-old man, as the train traveled toward Bukit Panjang on the Downtown Line.
After this story was published, train operator SBS Transit told Coconuts that the victim declined medical help and continued with his journey, while the attacker alighted. It said there was also surveillance footage of the attack.
“Our staff onboard was alerted to a commotion and he immediately proceeded to the incident train car. We will share our CCTV footage with the Police for their investigations,” the statement read.
The unidentified assailant, who was wearing a black cap, repeatedly kicked the victim in the stomach, stomped his gut and punched his face as he groaned in pain on the floor. None of the other passengers appeared to say or do anything in response. A woman sitting across from the pair stood up and walked away while two others watched.
“Those strikes with the knee and elbows, he knows exactly what he’s doing. Trained fighter I reckon. Horrible to watch. Hopefully the guy is put away for a long time and the victim makes a full recovery,” Redditor Two_tents wrote yesterday.
“Please tell me someone actually did press the emergency buttons instead of all just filming it,” Galactiva_Phantom wrote.
Update: This story has been updated with a statement by SBS Transit.
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