2 men charged with stabbing victim with 20cm harpoon at Ming Arcade

SINGAPORE — Two men were on Monday (June 6) charged with stabbing another man with a harpoon at Ming Arcade.

S Mageshwaran, 28, and Sheran Raj Balasubramaniam, 22, were each given one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon.

They are accused of stabbing Mr Lingieshwaran Ashokan on the sixth floor of Ming Arcade at 21 Cuscaden Road at about 4.30am on Saturday.

Police earlier said that when they arrived, a 23-year-old man was found with a 20cm tactical harpoon stuck in his back.

A harpoon is a barbed, spear-like instrument typically used to hunt whales and large sea creatures.

The victim was bleeding profusely from the injury. He was taken to the hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

The alleged assailants had fled before the police arrived, and their identities were established through investigations.

One of them was found to be the man armed with a parang in another case at Labrador Park that police responded to at about 8.45 that same morning.

A 19-year-old youth was subsequently identified as the accomplice of the armed man at Labrador Park.

All three were arrested after a manhunt.

The youth, Miranda Daniel Benjamin Catapia, was also charged on Monday with one charge of possessing an offensive weapon in public.

He is accused of having a machete at Labrador Nature Reserve at about 8.10am on Saturday.

Mageshwaran already faces another 17 charges of using abusive words and criminal force against police officers, voluntarily causing hurt to others, liquor consumption and driving offences.

He has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation and will return to court later this month.

The two other suspects have also been remanded in prison to assist with investigations, and will return to court next week.

Police earlier said that seven other men have also been arrested on suspicion of being secret society members and being involved in the stabbing at Ming Arcade.

Those guilty of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or any combination of these punishments.

The offence of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place is punishable with jail for up to three years and at least six strokes of the cane. CNA