SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old man was caught smoking outside a designated smoking area by an enforcement officer from the National Environment Agency (NEA), but he rejected the summons, used vulgarities on the other man and called the police about the matter.

On Tuesday (April 20), Muhammad Raynie Mokhtar ended up being fined S$3,000 after pleading guilty to a single charge of using abusive words towards a public servant.

The officer had just issued him a summons for smoking outside the designated smoking area at Lucky Plaza mall on the afternoon of Feb 7 last year.

When the NEA officer — a 30-year-old Malaysian whose name was redacted from court documents — issued him a summons, he grew angry and told the officer: “Why the (expletive)… you do this to Singaporeans? What’s your (expletive) purpose?”

He also told the officer to give him back his National Registration Identity Card (NRIC), then took it from the officer’s hands.

Raynie then called the police and said: “I was a few centimetres from the smoking corner. Then the (officer) tapped me on my shoulder and said I am smoking outside the box. I need police here. They are abusing their powers.”

The whole incident was captured on video footage from the officer’s body-worn camera.

State Prosecuting Officer Mohd Nasri Haron sought the fine imposed, noting that Raynie had been fined for a road traffic offence in 2016.

In mitigation, Raynie — who did not have a lawyer — admitted that it was his fault and added that he has always been willing to cooperate with public servants, having been in prison before.

He also told the court that he was not xenophobic towards the Malaysian NEA officer as his “housemate is Malaysian”, and was willing to cooperate with the officer until the latter “started being condescending to me”. 

In pleading for a lower fine, Raynie added that he only has S$2 left in his bank account after paying for renovations for his flat, and that he had been trying to save up for the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations next month.

For using abusive words towards a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to a year or fined up to S$5,000, or both.