A 41-year-old man was arrested for being a public nuisance after he was caught urinating on an escalator handrail at Outram Park MRT station on 10 Jan.
On 11 Jan, Facebook user Stella Kee shared on the Facebook group Complaint Singapore that her friend witnessed the man in the act at about 10.03pm. She wrote, “[He] walked up to and started urinating on the handrail of the escalator near Exit 3. He stood there for an extended period of time.”
One of the witnesses rushed to inform the staff at the nearest passenger service counter while another witness stayed to keep an eye on the man. Just as the witness was about to confront the man, he realised he was being watched and quickly left using the lift.
In a Facebook post on 12 Jan, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) shared that they were aware of the incident and worked together with SMRT and SBS Transit staff to identify the offender. He has been arrested and the police are investigating the matter.
They added, “After receiving news of the incident, staff from SMRT and SBS Transit worked together to handle the case. SBS Transit staff promptly arranged for the affected area to be cleaned and lodged a police report.”
The police confirmed to The Straits Times that a report was lodged and they have established the man’s identity.
“Given the egregious nature of the act, the man was arrested for public nuisance,” they said.
In Kee’s post, concerns were raised about SMRT and SBS Transit’s procedures as her friend was told by SMRT staff that Exit 3 was under SBS Transit’s jurisdiction so they can only help inform them about the incident.
Outram Park MRT station is an interchange on the East-West Line, North East Line (NEL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).
LTA explained in their post that the member of public who spoke to SMRT staff at the TEL station wanted them to use their CCTV system to identify the culprit. However, SMRT staff explained that the CCTV at NEL Exit 3 belongs to SBS Transit, who is the operator for NEL, and they could not access it from the TEL Passenger Service Centre.
They added that SMRT “immediately alerted” SBS Transit to check their CCTV footage, which enabled the police to “quickly identify and arrest the offender”.
LTA said they, along with the transport operators “strongly condemn such anti-social behaviour, which not only deface public spaces but also pose health and sanitation concerns for commuters”.
“Such actions are unacceptable, and LTA will work with Police to push for the maximum possible penalty to be taken against the culprit. We thank the member of public for alerting us on this issue,” wrote LTA.