PUBLISHED ONJune 26, 2026 3:56 AMBYWong Dao EnSeventeen Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) frontliners have already faced abuse in the first six months of 2026 alone, contributing to a total tally of 120 cases recorded over the past three years, authorities revealed.
In a Facebook post uploaded on Friday (June 26), the SCDF said that they responded to about 700 emergency medical calls each day in 2025.
"Every emergency call matters to us and we will do our utmost to serve the public to the best of our abilities," said the agency. "However, physical and/or verbal abuse hinders our frontliners from carrying out their duties."
The SCDF also pointed to a case in April, where a person was sentenced to 11 weeks jail for verbally abusing a paramedic.
It said that the person hurled vulgarities and made lewd remarks at the female paramedic while she was rendering assistance during a medical incident.
"Despite repeated attempts to calm the person down, the verbal aggression persisted," it said.
SCDF then maintained that it will not tolerate any form of abuse to their frontline staff, stating that it "will not hesitate to make a police report" against the perpetrators.
If found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from the discharge of his or her duty, an offender may be imprisoned for up to seven years.
The offender may and also liable for a fine or caning, it said.
"We thank the public for your understanding. Stand with our frontliners as they carry out their mission to protect and save lives and property," the SCDF concluded.
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