Argument between condo residents and security guards turns ugly

[Pro888]

http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_left_image-630x411/public/original_images/Aug2014/20140818_st_condodisputes_2.jpg?itok=HEg1sTdG

:gun3::gun3::gun3:

[Pro888]

Police were called to City Square Residences on at least three occasions last weekend, after disputes broke out between the condominium's security guards, residents and visitors.
Two of the three incidents involved violence, with an ambulance having to be called in and two visitors to the condo in Kitchener Link arrested on Sunday.
The first incident happened on National Day, when Ms Foo Sharlane, a resident, was not allowed to enter the building as she had forgotten her access pass.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/resident-pinned-down-guards-after-helping-fiance-who-forgot-her-condo-card#sthash.buQLLb7c.HPCK4VtT.dpuf

[reporter2]

Resident pinned down by guards after helping fiance who forgot her condo card

Joyce Lim

The Straits Times

Monday, Aug 18, 2014


Police were called to City Square Residences on at least three occasions last weekend, after disputes broke out between the condominium's security guards, residents and visitors.

Two of the three incidents involved violence, with an ambulance having to be called in and two visitors to the condo in Kitchener Link arrested on Sunday.

The first incident happened on National Day, when Ms Foo Sharlane, a resident, was not allowed to enter the building as she had forgotten her access pass.

Because of illegal sub-letting, security checks at the 910-unit condominium had been tightened, requiring residents to carry an access pass showing their photograph.

Ms Foo, 25, tried showing her identification card, which had her City Square Residences address. But the security officer still refused to let her through, she told The Straits Times.

A security supervisor was called to the scene.

"When the supervisor came and saw me, he said 'I know girls like you and I know what you are doing inside the building. I have caught you sneaking into the building and I have told you to stay away'," recalled Ms Foo, a Singaporean, who moved into the estate with her fiance last December. "People who walked past us heard what the officer said. Everyone was looking at me like I was here illegally. It's just so humiliating," said Ms Foo, the head of sales and marketing in a fashion firm, who added that she had never seen the supervisor before.

She said she stood by the guard post as she tried frantically to reach her fiance, who was at home.

When Mr Max Sebastian Lee saw he had 12 missed calls and 20 text messages, he rushed downstairs with Ms Foo's access pass.

"I was expecting maybe an apology. Instead we were met with an aggressive posture and swearing. I was taken aback," said Mr Lee, 32, who is from Britain.

The senior consultant in a shipping firm said he and Ms Foo tried to walk back to their block when the supervisor, identified by the couple as Mr Hazzin Omar, hit his head from behind with a walkie talkie.

Another guard pulled him from behind, and two more grabbed his arms, as he fell to the ground.

Said Ms Foo: "The supervisor was shouting "Pin him down! Pin him down!"

Police were alerted to the incident at about 3.20pm and confirmed that a case of voluntarily causing hurt had been reported.

That night, another resident, Mr Mike Gleisten, 28, had a brush with two security officers when they objected to his barbecue party going on past 10pm.

Mr Gleisten, a US citizen, who works as an account manager and is a friend of Mr Lee and Ms Foo, said the two officers banged on his door after midnight on Sunday the next day, to demand the names of all the guests who had been at his party and their contact details.

Mr Gleisten refused to give them the names, and called the police after angry words were exchanged.

The condominium manager declined to comment, as police investigations are ongoing, he said. The guards are hired by GATES PCM Integrated Services (GPIS). The security supervisor, Mr Hazzin, also declined to comment.

But the 29-year-old, who oversees security operations in the estate, told The Straits Times that he was assaulted by two visitors last Sunday, after they refused to provide their identification details as part of security procedures.

"The man took out his ID card, slammed it on the table and threw it at me," said Mr Hazzin, who said he was seated inside the security post and communicating with the two visitors through a window.

"I was upset and I threw his ID card out of the window."

The visitor's female companion then splashed water from her water bottle at Mr Hazzin, as her friend threw his umbrella at him.

The act was all captured on closed-circuit television camera, said Mr Hazzin.

He said he was taken to hospital by an ambulance.

Police confirmed the incident, which happened at about 6.15pm. The two foreign visitors were arrested for a rash act and causing a nuisance in public.

Police said investigations are ongoing.

[email protected]

[minority]

Coz many people illegal sublet and do illegal biz there.

[onglai]

Coz many people illegal sublet and do illegal biz there.

the guard behaved like prison warden.

:scared-5::scared-5:

[fiat500]

the guard behaved like prison warden.

:scared-5::scared-5:
Kudos to the security guards! They are doing a good job @ City Square Residences..! :luke-and-darth:

[darkseed73]

the guard behaved like prison warden.

:scared-5::scared-5:

I think the guards are just carrying out duties in accordance to the MA instruction.

We should not condemn ppl doing their jobs instead maybe MA should review their rules if they want to make the condo like a prison.

[onglai]

I think the guards are just carrying out duties in accordance to the MA instruction.

We should not condemn ppl doing their jobs instead maybe MA should review their rules if they want to make the condo like a prison.


"When the supervisor came and saw me, he said 'I know girls like you and I know what you are doing inside the building. I have caught you sneaking into the building and I have told you to stay away'," recalled Ms Foo, a Singaporean, who moved into the estate with her fiance last December. "People who walked past us heard what the officer said. Everyone was looking at me like I was here illegally. It's just so humiliating," said Ms Foo, the head of sales and marketing in a fashion firm, who added that she had never seen the supervisor before. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/resident-pinned-down-guards-after-helping-fiance-who-forgot-her-condo-card#sthash.buQLLb7c.uSAcOvC3.dpuf

guards can be firm n strict without being so insulting.

[minority]

I think the guards are just carrying out duties in accordance to the MA instruction.

We should not condemn ppl doing their jobs instead maybe MA should review their rules if they want to make the condo like a prison.

People always got something to complain. if Guards never enforce then people complain estate become like hotel or brothel. I heard b4 the condo have a lot of outsiders coz some owner illegal sublet to short lease. and also becoz of the area have people run illegal "biz".

So I guess its to clean up the area. but I guess the guards should not man handle the tenants either.

[fiat500]

"When the supervisor came and saw me, he said 'I know girls like you and I know what you are doing inside the building. I have caught you sneaking into the building and I have told you to stay away'," recalled Ms Foo, a Singaporean, who moved into the estate with her fiance last December. "People who walked past us heard what the officer said. Everyone was looking at me like I was here illegally. It's just so humiliating," said Ms Foo, the head of sales and marketing in a fashion firm, who added that she had never seen the supervisor before. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/resident-pinned-down-guards-after-helping-fiance-who-forgot-her-condo-card#sthash.buQLLb7c.uSAcOvC3.dpuf

guards can be firm n strict without being so insulting.

To be fair, we have to hear the stories from both sides!
The Ms Foo might hv also said something nasty to the guards that escalated the whole incident..
It's not an easy job for the guards as they were just carrying out their duties! furthermore, these people are not paid well n yet they are still doing their job deligently. If they don't bother, they can just simply close one eye n let any tom dick n harry past through.

[august]

See this at the end? They were arrested. I think it is clear who is at fault here, lol.



He said he was taken to hospital by an ambulance.

Police confirmed the incident, which happened at about 6.15pm. The two foreign visitors were arrested for a rash act and causing a nuisance in public.

Police said investigations are ongoing.

[email protected]

[bargain hunter]

yes for the 2 visitors case, backed up with CCTV.

the other 2 cases, will need 2 sides of the story.


See this at the end? They were arrested. I think it is clear who is at fault here, lol.

[merlion]

Kudos to the security guards! They are doing a good job @ City Square Residences..! :luke-and-darth:

Agreed. Kudos to these security personnels. They are doing a great job at improving the safety and security of the estate.

[star]

Even the residents or tenants r in wrong security officer shld not hit him with walkie talkie on the head.

[onglai]

To be fair, we have to hear the stories from both sides!
The Ms Foo might hv also said something nasty to the guards that escalated the whole incident..
It's not an easy job for the guards as they were just carrying out their duties! furthermore, these people are not paid well n yet they are still doing their job deligently. If they don't bother, they can just simply close one eye n let any tom dick n harry past through.

when u say the security guard are doing a good job, u already concluded that the tenants are wrong, the guards are right..

to be fair?

[fiat500]

when u say the security guard are doing a good job, u already concluded that the tenants are wrong, the guards are right..

to be fair?
Yes, i always side the underdogs...
The guards don't get anything extra by being so stringent.
How i wished the guards @my place are so on the ball!

It's good to teach all these young punk expat ang mors a lesson or 2... :shame:

[fiat500]

Even the residents or tenants r in wrong security officer shld not hit him with walkie talkie on the head.
Actually he should hv used a baseball bat instead! :unconscious:

[bargain hunter]

but as star pointed out, "Even the residents or tenants r in wrong security officer shld not hit him with walkie talkie on the head."

so in the case of Ms Foo and her ang mor fiancee, the security will need to explain why they hit him with walkie talkie and pinned him down.


Yes, i always side the underdogs...
The guards don't get anything extra by being so stringent.
How i wished the guards @my place are so on the ball!

It's good to teach all these young punk expat ang mors a lesson or 2... :shame:

[august]

Even the residents or tenants r in wrong security officer shld not hit him with walkie talkie on the head.

Sounds like it is just their side of the story. Police was called, no arrest in this case. so I tend to side with the security. Good job!

[economist]

Yes, i always side the underdogs...
The guards don't get anything extra by being so stringent.
How i wished the guards @my place are so on the ball!

It's good to teach all these young punk expat ang mors a lesson or 2... :shame:


The security guards do get extra things by being so stringent - a feel of superiority when exercising his "rights" of guarding the condo, they extract the utmost satisfaction from stringent execution especially when residents get pissed.

[minority]

The security guards do get extra things by being so stringent - a feel of superiority when exercising his "rights" of guarding the condo, they extract the utmost satisfaction from stringent execution especially when residents get pissed.

but when shit do happens. will the residence blame the security guards are being too lenient and lax? There are always flip the side. When nothing happens people say relax lah... when shit happens people will kpkb why security never do anything.

[irisng]

but when shit do happens. will the residence blame the security guards are being too lenient and lax? There are always flip the side. When nothing happens people say relax lah... when shit happens people will kpkb why security never do anything.

Even when the parents or teachers hit their children, they can be accused of being abused, don't say about the security guard or who is right and who is wrong, he has no right to hit the resident unless maybe for self-defence.

It is quite true about your sentence, "When nothing happens people say relax lah... when shit happens people will kpkb why security never do anything."
But if too strict, sometimes it becomes inconvenience for the residents and the guests, there should have some flexibility and see case by case basis. Just like my case, we have changed a few batch of security guards already, I think it is very common for most condo.

1st batch of security guard, too lax. One day, I had arranged someone from the tuition agency to come to my place at around 7pm for discussion but he came at 11+pm when we were about to sleep (we never told the guard that we had visitor). Our security guard never called to inform us that there was a visitor, instead this "someone" came direct knocking at my door.

I was told that sometimes, they do sleep on the bench in the night, is it common?

2nd batch of security guard, too strict. I was not aware that there is no shifting of furnitures on Saturday after 1pm, so I arranged my brothers to pick up some sofa sets and dinning table from somewhere to my house but the security guards refused to let them in, instead he told them to park outside our main gate and carried one by one to my unit. We had tried to talk to him nicely but he said this was the condo rule, he also said that he was good enough to let us parked outside our condo, if not we had to park far away and carried one by one in. My unit is about 2 big blocks from the main gate.

With the same security guard, I met one the guest from other resident. She complained that she brought her children to her mother's house at around 8am+, the guard refused to let her in because she was told that she could only come in around 9am. So she had no choice, get her mother to fetch her young children to the house first, then she drove out to park the car somewhere nearby.

Now we have another batch of security guard, yet to see.

[irisng]

Even when the parents or teachers hit their children, they can be accused of being abused, don't say about the security guard or who is right and who is wrong, he has no right to hit the resident unless maybe for self-defence.

It is quite true about your sentence, "When nothing happens people say relax lah... when shit happens people will kpkb why security never do anything."
But if too strict, sometimes it becomes inconvenience for the residents and the guests, there should have some flexibility and see case by case basis. Just like my case, we have changed a few batch of security guards already, I think it is very common for most condo.

1st batch of security guard, too lax. One day, I had arranged someone from the tuition agency to come to my place at around 7pm for discussion but he came at 11+pm when we were about to sleep (we never told the guard that we had visitor). Our security guard never called to inform us that there was a visitor, instead this "someone" came direct knocking at my door.

I was told that sometimes, they do sleep on the bench in the night, is it common?

2nd batch of security guard, too strict. I was not aware that there is no shifting of furnitures on Saturday after 1pm, so I arranged my brothers to pick up some sofa sets and dinning table from somewhere to my house but the security guards refused to let them in, instead he told them to park outside our main gate and carried one by one to my unit. We had tried to talk to him nicely but he said this was the condo rule, he also said that he was good enough to let us parked outside our condo, if not we had to park far away and carried one by one in. My unit is about 2 big blocks from the main gate.

With the same security guard, I met one the guest from other resident. She complained that she brought her children to her mother's house at around 8am+, the guard refused to let her in because she was told that she could only come in around 9am. So she had no choice, get her mother to fetch her young children to the house first, then she drove out to park the car somewhere nearby.

Now we have another batch of security guard, yet to see.

Yup, for the 2nd batch of security guard, by the time my brothers came to my house, it was around 1.15pm and yet they still refused to let them in. He said rule is rule.

[onglai]

Yup, for the 2nd batch of security guard, by the time my brothers came to my house, it was around 1.15pm and yet they still refused to let them in. He said rule is rule.

if u ask pple ard, some will say the security has done a good job, because it's not their frens/relative kena ma....

:friendly_wink:

[economist]

Yup, for the 2nd batch of security guard, by the time my brothers came to my house, it was around 1.15pm and yet they still refused to let them in. He said rule is rule.

This is what I said: The security guards do get extra things by being so stringent - a feel of superiority when exercising his "rights" of guarding the condo, they extract the utmost satisfaction from stringent execution especially when residents get pissed.

[irisng]

if u ask pple ard, some will say the security has done a good job, because it's not their frens/relative kena ma....

:friendly_wink:

Exactly. Only those who experience it will know the feeling.

[TABee]

On the incident alone, it was handled badly.

For the other cases where the police were called, it may be unrelated.

There is no smoke without a fire.

Since about 5 years ago, many transient stayers moved in to CSR (due to influx of FTs?) and companies with staff (programmers, etc) came in to do projects. Instead of staying in proper accommodation, large IT companies for example would mass rent a few apartments for their staff to stay.

There is a mix of long term staff who welcomed their colleagues to bunk in for short terms. This created problems due to differences in culture and behavior/expectations.

For example, bunch of men playing horse-playing in the pool, using the life buoy to keep them afloat as they did not know how to swim, washing themselves in the pool like they do in their rivers, spitting, not wearing proper swimming attire, not rinsing off sweat before entering pool, stepping wet into the lifts, damaging common property, fitness equipment, gym, etc. Couples being amorous in the pool thinking no one can see or having had too much to drink and making noise, etc.

Security could be more polite and the offenders could be sternly warned then fined as appropriate. But how to collect the fines? How to enforce rules?

Police has murdered people, had sex with offenders, accepted bribes. Principles/teachers had taken money, had abused youngsters and Guards too have been arrested for molest, etc.

Just too bad that the development is too big and too many landlords rent out to people who do not respect rules and behave differently from the majority. Council may have good intentions but if managing agent is not experienced and security has low morale, high stress and low EQ, what can they do? They are just SECURITY GUARDS. They are not empowered to arrest or shoot. If anything happens, just call the police. Police will access and if no blood flowed, it is FILE A MAGISTRATES COMPLIANT.