SINGAPORE - A security guard who slapped a man at a mall at Clarke Quay on Saturday (Nov 25) has been fired by his employer, Certis Cisco.

A clip of the encounter, which went viral on social media on Tuesday (Nov 28), shows the pair at what appears to be an entrance to The Central at Clarke Quay.

The security guard is shown gesturing angrily at a man in a red shirt, who slowly approaches him.

When the man in red gets nearer, the guard is shown slapping him. The man stumbles, before entering the mall after fumbling with the door.

The police told The Straits Times on Tuesday that they were alerted to a case of voluntarily causing hurt at 6 Eu Tong Sen Street at 7.20pm on Saturday.

"The parties involved were advised accordingly," said the police. "The police are looking into the matter."

ST understands that the man in red was sitting at the stairs. The security guard had approached him to request that he stop sitting there, when the dispute broke out.

Responding to queries from ST, a Certis Cisco spokesman said that the security guard was fired on Monday, with the termination taking effect on Tuesday.

She said the firm has also "shared the incident with the rest of our security staff and reiterated the importance of conducting themselves professionally when interacting with members of the public".

The managing agent for the mall, CBRE, said in a statement to ST that it "takes a serious view of the safety of the occupants in all the buildings we manage".

"Following the incident, we carried out a thorough investigation with all parties concerned including the security company Certis Cisco who employed the security officer involved in the incident," said CBRE's associate director for asset services Serene Koh.

"This is the first time an incident of such a nature has been lodged and we will work closely with Certis Cisco to ensure that the security personnel deployed at the mall carry out their duties with the highest level of professionalism," she said.