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"Our embassy in Yangon has offered to visit him and arrange medical treatment," the ministry's statement said. The embassy has also offered assistance for him and his family to leave.

"Singapore is appalled and shocked by this act of wanton violence," the ministry said. "It underscores the need for the Burmese authorities to exercise utmost restraint and desist from the use of force."

In an e-mail sent to The Straits Times, the man said he was on his way to his office Thursday when riot police blocked the road. He stopped the car and got out with his wife.

"Suddenly, riot police and soldiers drove the truck around the corner and started firing shots at the crowd," said the man, who requested anonymity as he feared for his safety.

The couple ran to one side and crouched down.

"I was shot twice, but I did not know what hit me," he said, adding that his legs were bruised from the impact of 40-millimetre riot control munitions, known as rubber bullets.

He was forced into a drain with other members of a crowd for 15 minutes.

"They just shot at us for no reason," he said.//DPA