The attack left two men, aged 76 and 40, and a six-year-old girl with minor injuries. - PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO, KELVIN CHNG via The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Preliminary police investigations into a stabbing incident in the Commonwealth area on Feb 3 revealed that the suspect had acted alone, and there was nothing to suggest it was an act of terror.
During the press conference, police said a 20-year-old man allegedly attacked seven people with a knife, a chopper and his bare hands.
All the victims had superficial injuries, with three conveyed to the hospital for outpatient treatment, the police said. The motive for the attack is not known at this juncture, ST understands.
The suspect will be charged in court on Feb 5 with voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons. The man did not have any prior criminal record, said police.
A court order will be sought for him to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment.
ST understands the suspect allegedly attacked the first victim, a 45-year-old woman, near Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, but she did not call for police assistance.
Police said they subsequently received a call about a man holding a chopper running towards 301 Commonwealth Avenue at about 7.05pm.
The second and third victims were subsequently attacked at the first-floor lift lobby of a nearby Housing Board block.
The police said the suspect then fled to the vicinity of the hawker centre, where he allegedly attacked his fourth victim.
After that, he headed towards the Alexandra Canal park connector, where the fifth, sixth and seventh victims were attacked.
The police subsequently arrested the suspect at 1 Dundee Road, about 400m away, with the help of five members of the public who managed to pin down the man at 7.18pm.
The attack left two men, aged 76 and 40, and a six-year-old girl with minor injuries. They were conscious when taken to the National University Hospital and received outpatient treatment there.
Three other men, aged 54, 21 and 20, and the Chinese woman also had minor injuries, but declined further medical assistance.
Police said they received a call about a man holding a chopper running towards 301 Commonwealth Avenue at about 7.05pm. - PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO via The Straits Times/ANN
During the press conference, three men – Mr Mok Kwong Heng, 61, Mr Gangatharan Saravanan, 28, and Mr Emmanuel Ee, 21 – were presented with the Public Spiritedness Award for their help in detaining the suspect before the police arrived.
When The Straits Times visited the area, eyewitnesses said that they heard signs of trouble at around 7pm when a woman ran through Margaret Market - a small mall beside the hawker centre - yelling for help as someone had tried to strangle her.
A food stall operator, who gave his name only as Mr Goh, said that the suspect had fled the area but soon returned, allegedly armed with a small blade that was believed to be used to attack the six-year-old girl and her father.
Mr Mok, who works as a cleaner at the hawker centre, was heading for a Chinese New Year event at a community centre with the chairman of the Hawker’s Association of Margaret Drive and several stall owners, when he saw three teens running towards them, shouting.
The youths were allegedly chased by the suspect, who was waving his arms frantically with a chopper, said Mr Mok.
As the suspect ran past the group, the chairman, Mr Neo Chin Lee, 78, was allegedly struck by the chopper in the back of his head.
“He didn’t hit me very hard, but there was some bleeding from the back of my head,” said Mr Neo, showing a swallow wound behind his right ear, treated with medicinal ointment.
As his fellow employees followed the suspect to chase him away, Mr Neo sat on the steps of the food centre to tend to his wound. Mr Goh was among several employees working nearby who hurried over with a first aid kit while they awaited a medic.
Concerned for bystanders’ safety, the group followed the suspect at a distance, warning pedestrians to stay clear, said western stall operator Lim Boon Chit, 58, who was among the group who tailed the suspect, along with Mr Mok.
Mr Mok said: “We shouted at him, and as he ran towards Queenstown MRT station, we kept chasing him. I stopped to call the police so that we could get reinforcements to stop him.”
“It was quite lucky there was a downpour earlier. Otherwise there would have been more people walking or cycling,” said Mr Mok.
The suspect soon turned into the park connector. Mr Ee, who was cycling along the route and stopped to help, said the suspect was wearing a mask and looked confused.
“He was brisk walking, so we were brisk walking behind him,” said Mr Ee.
“He had a cleaver, so we didn’t want to get too close, but we didn’t want to lose him in case he did speed up and run,” he said.
The group kept up the chase before cornering him at a guard post at Queens Peak Condominium in Dundee Road.
Mr Mok said: “We couldn’t manage to hold him down. As we approached him, he kept swinging his chopper at us. So I picked up a pole that was supporting the branches of a tree and asked him to put down his weapon, otherwise we will hit him.
“But he didn’t obey our orders, so I hit him on his head.”
Asked if the five men pinned the suspect down, Mr Mok said three of them did so. “If the five of us pinned him down, I think he will become a ham chim peng (deep-fried Chinese doughnut).”
On Feb 4, it appeared to be business as usual at the hawker centre, with a steady flow of diners.
Mr Lim, who was part of the group who helped to stop the suspect, said the young man was a familiar face at the two-storey hawker centre. He had been a patron when they ran the store at Tanglin Halt, from which many stalls at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre relocated in 2023.
“He will order food from us every two to three weeks and eat quietly by himself,” Mr Lim said. “He’s never been aggressive before.”
“He struggled a lot when we pinned him down. I was shouting at him ‘don’t do this,’ and he kept crying,” Mr Lim said.
When asked about why he decided to pursue the suspect, Mr Lim said: “We just happened to be there. My grandchildren come to this area too, and I keep thnking what might have happened if they were here when this occurred.”
Ms Serene Chiu, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Commander of the Clementi Police Division, said: “The police would like to commend the five members of the public who detained the offender before the police’s arrival.
“Their bravery and intervention stopped the actions of the offender from causing further harm to the public.”
Those found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons can be jailed for up to seven years, fined and caned.
The police also reminded the public that it is an offence to carry an offensive weapon in public without a lawful purpose. Those convicted of this offence can be jailed for up to three years and receive at least six strokes of the cane. - The Straits Times/ANN
