Flash floods in Singapore have become so common these past months that it’s not even major news anymore. This past Saturday, there is yet another flood, the fourth in recent months.
So it came as some surprise when Mr. Shafie Goh, a photographer for a local newspaper, got arrested for taking photos of the flash floods. The 57-year-old photojournalist was detained for one hour by a policeman after refusing to leave the scene of a flash flood along Upper Bukit Timah Road.
A reporter getting detained in Singapore isn’t new but for taking photos of the flash floods? Like I said earlier, flash floods are so common no one is even surprised by them anymore so why was this photojournalist detained for doing his job? The statement from the police says that the police officer had repeatedly asked Mr Goh to move to a safe place as he was taking photos in a dangerous position. That doesn’t make sense. Was the flood more dangerous than reported? Every report I had read so far says that the flood was only a few centimeters high, never a danger to anyone. So how was Mr Goh in danger?
Some Singaporeans react with outrage over the detention while others shrugged their shoulders saying that it’s not unusual for the Singapore government to detain someone to prevent embarrassment. I believe neither is the case.
Mr Goh wasn’t in danger and he was taking photos of a common occurrence in Singapore. Let’s not make too much out of this; sounds like nothing but an over-zealous police officer to me.
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