Sharing a public space requires all users to be civil and considerate towards one another. When that can’t be achieved, conflicts and misunderstandings may arise.
Recently, a video of a man slapping a teenager at a bridge in Punggol has been making rounds on the Internet.
He allegedly schools the youth for stretching out his legs and posing a safety hazard to passers-by on the bridge.
However, many netizens are calling out his behaviour. Conceding that the teen could’ve been more considerate, many, however, find his act a tad extreme.
According to the footage shared by Sgfollowsall on Instagram, the group of youngsters were cycling around Lorong Halus Wetland on Sunday (30 May).
When one of them allegedly had a leg cramp, the group decided to take a break on the Lorong Halus Red Bridge.
As one of the teens was stretching his legs out while playing mobile games, a man can be seen approaching and subsequently berating him.
“I ask you to [retract] your legs, so many bicycles here,” he said, audibly uttering vulgarities and visibly slapping the teen.
Things escalated when the teen replied, “It’s my problem what I wanna do,” before the man proceeded to slap him again.
Claiming that the teen was rude, the man demanded an apology from him.
Footage of the incident was reshared by ROADS.sg on Facebook, where close to 1,000 netizens offered their two cents.
One deemed the man’s behaviour as “physical assault” against a minor, saying that the reminder could’ve been done in a more civil manner.
Similarly, some thought that the man was setting a poor example for the teens when it came to respecting others.
On the other hand, others pointed out that youngsters sitting on a bridge which many cyclists cross was seemingly unsafe.
Moreover, some of them did not have their masks on and were seen smoking on the bridge.
While the teen’s behaviour does pose safety hazards and should be corrected, getting physical is not the way to do it.
That being said, we’d like to remind readers that the video doesn’t show the full scale of the incident, and what may have transpired beforehand.
This account, albeit being one-sided for now, reminds us to always be polite and reasonable when engaging with others.
We hope that both parties were able to resolve the matter amicably and walk away from the situation unharmed.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @adminsgfollowsall on Instagram.
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