THEY saw a police car blocking a narrow access lane to a rain shelter, and thought it had no business to be parked there.

So Mr Ong Eng Chowg and his wife, Marilyn, who are residents in the area, decided to act.

Mrs Ong set off to track down the police officers to 'throw the book at them', so to speak.

Meanwhile, Mr Ong took photos of the police car.

Had they looked more closely, they would have seen this notice on the 'No parking' sign: 'Except police, ambulance and authorised vehicles'.

But when they encountered the situation on 12 Nov, at about 5pm, the couple were on the warpath, in the name of doing their 'civic duty'.

It was raining heavily, and the Ongs were returning to their HDB estate at Palm View in Ang Mo Kio after shopping for groceries.

They drove to the drop-off rain shelter between Blocks 232 and 233 so Mrs Ong could get off with the groceries.

But there, they saw a police car parked in the only lane leading to the rain shelter. This is the only sheltered drop-off point for all the residents in Blocks 231 to 235.

Said Mr Ong, 54, a businessman: 'It's a frequently used drop-off shelter, because so many people have to share it. So my wife and I thought it would be inconvenient for residents if the police car continued to block the lane.'

Feeling it was their duty as residents to ask the officers to remove their vehicle, Mr Ong decided to park his car behind the police vehicle, while his wife went to look for the officers.

He said he decided to park there because he thought it would be hazardous to back out of the lane in heavy rain due to the reduced visibility.

Mrs Ong, 52, a businesswoman, found two officers talking to a man in a coffee shop in Block 232.

She told them that their vehicle was blocking the lane.

The two police officers then followed her back to the shelter, where they saw Mr Ong taking pictures of the police car.

The businessman explained that he had decided to take the pictures 'in case anything goes wrong'.

But they ended up arguing with the police officers.

Official business

Mr Ong said that one of the cops, a staff sergeant, explained that he had parked his vehicle in the lane to attend to a sleeping drunk in the coffee shop in Block 232.

The officer also pointed out that the no-parking sign at the shelter had an additional note that read: 'except police, ambulance and authorised vehicles', so it was legal for the police to park in the lane.

Mr and Mrs Ong acknowledged the sign, but claimed they were not aware of it, because the words were small.

The cops then pointed out that Mr Ong had breached the traffic rule by parking in a no-parking zone.

They then booked Mr Ong for illegally parking his car behind the police car.

This angered the couple.

Mr Ong said he then told the staff sergeant 'in a raised but controlled voice' that he was 'doing his civic duty', so he shouldn't 'pull rank' with him.

The couple claimed that the officer then shouted at Mr Ong: 'You're shouting at me? A policeman?'

A police spokesman, however, said that the officers had 'remained calm and professional throughout the engagement'.

Mr Ong later maintained that it was the not the police car's obstruction, but the staff sergeant's attitude and a traffic summon that upset him.

'If he had been gentle and understanding, I would not have minded so much,' he said.

Mr Ong said that he later received a traffic offence notice for parking in a no-parking zone on 12 Nov.

The notice referred to the lane leading to the drop-off shelter in Palm View.

But this time, he took time to read the contents more closely.

The punishment was a fine of $120 and three demerit points.

He intends to appeal to the traffic police.

He has no plans to book other authorised vehicles for parking offences.

Officers were responding to emergency case nearby

POLICE spokesman Stanley Norbert told The New Paper that the police officers were authorised to park at the covered car porch between Blk 232 & 233 Palm View Estate, as they were responding to an emergency case at the nearby coffee shop.

He said: 'The authorised parking arrangement is stated on the erected sign: 'No Parking and Waiting, Except for Police, Ambulance and Authorised Vehicles'. The sign is placed a few metres on either side of the covered porch.

'While the officers were attending to the case, they were approached by a member of public who demanded that they remove the police car which was parked at the car porch.

'The officers explained that they were authorised to park there as they were responding to a case, though the member of public insisted that the officers should remove their vehicle.

'Nonetheless, the officers remained calm and professional throughout the engagement.'

Regarding the summons, the spokesman said: 'As the officers noticed that there were two cars parked illegally at the location, they noted down the vehicle numbers for the purpose of issuing summons against the vehicle owners for committing an illegal parking offence.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 18, 2008.