PAP kindergarten in Hougang warns parents about child grabbing incident; police clears issue

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A PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergarten in Hougang has warned parents of a child grabbing incident on Monday.

According to a notice put up outside the kindergarten, the incident took place on Monday morning at around 7.45am near the lift lobby of Block 327 along Avenue 5.

The man, who was identified as “normal looking” and had a white plastic object tied around his neck, tried to grab the girl from her mother but was not successful as the mother was holding her hand. The man ran away after that.

The child is not a student of PCF, which was alerted about the incident by the parent.

However, according to a police statement on Thursday, investigations showed that the suspect, who is in his 50s, was a "neighbourhood character" and was seen "interacting with some children in the vincinity of Block 326 Hougang Avenue 7".

"Police contacted the informant and the PAP Community Foundation Centre to establish more facts. Our subsequent investigations confirm that there was no such attempt to ‘grab’ the children," the statement said.

The police has advised the public not to circulate this incident as it can generate unnecessary public alarm.

SPF Facebook says:
Dear all, thanks for bringing to our attention the alleged “child-grabbing” incident at Hougang Avenue 7. Police have investigated the incident and confirm that there was no such attempt to “grab” any child away from their parents.

There was a call made to the Police on 6 May 2013 at about 11am, informing us about a man in his 50s who was seen interacting with some children in the vicinity of Block 326 Hougang Ave 7. We subsequently contacted the informant and the PAP Community Foundation Centre to establish more facts.

It was found that the man is actually a resident in the neighbourhood and that he was merely trying to interact and hold a child’s hand while he was in the lift with the child and the parent. There was no attempt by him to forcefully grab the child away. Hope this clarifies the incident.

We note that what really happened could have been taken out of context through hearsay by various concerned parties. While such concern is good, we would like to caution that the circulation of such unsubstantiated information can lead to undue public alarm and anxiety.

So our advice is that in future if you do come across such incidents, please inform or the call the police immediately at ‘999’ so that we can take immediate action. Thank you.