During the President’s Open Forum on Nov 6, 2019, a local student was allegedly pushed down by a non-local student leading to scuffles breaking out. In the chaos, the non-local student was surrounded, assaulted and injured – prompting wide media coverage with footage showing that he had kept his hands in the pocket during the alleged contact with the local student. The University issued a statement on Nov 10 condemning the deliberate and completely unacceptable assault and battery against the student. The University thereafter sought external professional help in collecting and gathering evidence in respect of the incident. 

The University was criticized for having double standards as it was said to have prioritized the non-local student by taking prompt and stern action in respect of his assault, but ignoring the local student who had been pushed in the first place. 

The University condemns all violence and will adopt the same principles and standards to all students who violate regulations for student conduct. The University took the appropriate actions with regards to the non-local student who was injured in this intentional malicious assault case, as it would have done for any other case. As for the local student who claimed to have been pushed, no complaint or report has even been filed with the University, nor has the student requested for assistance. Whilst no action could hence be taken by the University, DSTO has sought further information regarding this student's identity from SU with the aim of offering the University's assistance, but has not been able to make contact with the student in question thus far.