Older news, please guys, this did not happened last year but back in 2007. For the benefit of those who told me that it was an urban legend, sharing this as someone just sent this to me:
http://reallife.stomp.com.sg/stomp/...id_crowd_threw_rocks_and_bottles_at_cops.html
Geylang raid: Crowd threw rocks and bottles at cops
26 Mar 2010
THE four policemen went undercover to look for illegal activities in a Geylang backlane.
But the operation quickly turned ugly when they arrested one person at a makeshift gambling stall.
A crowd of about 200 people gathered around the officers and threw whatever they could lay their hands on, such as beer bottles and glasses, rocks and even rubbish.
They became so unruly that one officer pulled out his gun, turned on its laser guide and aimed it at them.
They calmed down, but became aggressive again when one of the men in the crowd, Foong Yuen Kuang, 28, charged aggressively towards one of the officers and challenged him.
Speaking in a mixture of English and Hokkien, he openly challenged the undercover officer to a “one-on-one” fight with him.
He then shouted at the crowd in Hokkien: “Mai kia mata (Don’t be afraid of the police).”
The mob resumed throwing things at the officers and dispersed only when police reinforcements arrived 15 minutes later. By then, the four officers were bruised and bloodied.
One was bleeding from being kicked in the jaw, while the other three had abrasions on their heads and back injuries.
They received treatment at Changi General Hospital.
The dramatic details of the confrontation were revealed at the trial of Foong, a Singapore permanent resident, who faced one charge each of rioting and using threatening words at a police officer.
The court was told that four officers from Bedok Police Division’s crime control unit went to the backlane between Geylang Lorong 14 and Lorong 16 at 9.30pm on 11 Jun 2007.
Hot spot for illegal gambling
The backlanes from Geylang Lorong 14 to Lorong 18 are a known hot spot for illegal gambling.
Statistics on the number of people caught for illegal gambling in Geylang are not available.
But figures from the police show a rise in the number of offenders caught for illegal gambling and betting islandwide – 1,797 were arrested last year compared to 1,566 in 2008 and 992 in 2007.
In the first two months of this year, the police, Central Narcotics Bureau, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Customs and other government agencies also conducted two multi-agency raids in Geylang.
In the first raid on 22 Jan, more than 170 people were arrested for illegal gambling, secret society involvement, vice-related activities and other offences. The 14-hour operation involved more than 200 officers.
The second raid, on 6 Feb, saw more than 300 officers from the various agencies nab 158 people for gang-related activities, immigration offences, illegal employment and other offences in the Geylang and Orchard Road areas.
In the June 2007 raid, the court heard how that night, the policemen saw five makeshift gambling stalls amid a throng of people in the backlane.
Two officers moved in to arrest an operator, Muhammad Said Sulaiman Dres.
Meanwhile, the other two officers, Staff Sergeant Tay Zhong Hao and Staff Sgt Kenneth Chia Sok Poon, went to the other tables.
Staff Sgt Tay told the court that things started turning ugly when he arrested Lim Teck Ann for possession of gambling implements.
A group of seven men surrounded the officers and demanded they release Lim. One of them even tried to snatch Staff Sgt Tay’s baton.
By then, a big crowd of about 200 had gathered. They jeered and some threw objects at the police officers.
Fearing for his life, Staff Sgt Tay said he then drew his revolver and pointed the laser guide at the men.
That’s when Foong charged towards Staff Sgt Tay and challenged him to a one-on-one fight.
The crowd dispersed after police reinforcements arrived.
Foong, Lim, Muhammad Said and Poh Yi Ming, who was one of the seven men, were arrested and taken into custody. Ong Kim Choon, who was also among the seven men, had left the scene. He was arrested about three weeks later.
‘He stirred up crowd’
In his defence, Foong said he had gone to Geylang that night to have dinner with a friend. When his friend went to take a look at the fight and returned with a head injury, Foong assumed that Staff Sgt Tay was responsible for it as he saw the latter standing nearby “holding a baton aggressively”.
That was why he scolded Staff Sgt Tay and used vulgarities on him.
Foong’s lawyer, Mr S S Dhillon, argued that Foong was not part of the group of seven men who had obstructed the officers from arresting Lim as he had arrived at the scene much later.
Mr Dhillon also said that the crowd acted on their own accord and became disorderly when Staff Sgt Tay hit Lim with a baton.
But District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim disagreed that Foong’s role in the incident was minor.
“In stirring up the crowd and instigating them to be defiant towards the police officers, the accused must be deemed to be indirectly responsible for the acts of the crowd when they threw the objects at the police officers,” she stated in her written judgement.
She noted that the situation “could have got uglier and become out of hand... It was a matter of time before a crowd of this nature turned into a mob on the streets and the results would have been unimaginable”.
The judge viewed that police officers should be allowed to perform their duties with little interference from the public “or else it will lead to the breakdown of law and order”.
She added that such behaviour “shows a defiance towards authority and misplaced bravado which the courts should not condone”.
She jailed Foong a total of 15 months.
Foong, who is out on bail, is appealing against his conviction and sentence.
Ong was jointly tried with Foong on the same charges and received the same sentence.
Lim pleaded guilty to four charges of threatening and assaulting police officers, and was jailed 18 months.
Poh, who pleaded guilty to one count of rioting and offences under the Common Gaming Houses Act and the Misuse of Drugs Act, was sentenced to the reformative training centre in August 2007.
Court papers did not mention how Muhammad Said was dealt with.
For rioting, Foong could have been jailed five years and caned. For using threatening words against a police officer, he could have been jailed one year.
