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Buangkok sword incident: Suspect charged, remanded for 3 weeks for psychiatric observation

SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old man with a prior criminal record of violence was charged on Wednesday (March 16), after he was caught on video swinging a sword at several cars and a passer-by along Buangkok Crescent two days ago.

Screenshots from video footages showing the police arresting a man who was swinging a sword in the middle of Buangkok Crescent on March 14, 2022.

Screenshots from video footages showing the police arresting a man who was swinging a sword in the middle of Buangkok Crescent on March 14, 2022.

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SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old man with a prior criminal record of violence was charged on Wednesday (March 16), after he was caught on video swinging a sword at several cars and a passer-by along Buangkok Crescent two days ago.

Fadhil Yusop, a Singaporean, had allegedly taken some unknown pills before leaving his home with the sword on Monday afternoon.

He faces one charge of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.

After taking the unknown pills, he had a “brief altercation” with members of the public at the lift lobby of a public housing block where he lived, the police said earlier.

He then jaywalked across the road and allegedly struck five passing cars with the sword. He then swung it at a member of the public, Mr Kumarapeli Arachchige Amila Chinthana, at the traffic junction in front of Buangkok Square Mall.

This was captured in several video clips that circulated online.

Mr Chinthana and five other passers-by — who received Public Spiritedness Awards on Tuesday for their actions — then helped to restrain Fadhil until police officers arrived.

After arresting Fadhil, the police raided his home and seized two packets of yellow pills. He does not face any charges in relation to these pills.

Court documents stated that Fadhil had cut Mr Chinthana three times, leaving the other man with a cut on his left arm and two cuts on his left shoulder. The police earlier said that another man had suffered abrasions on his knee as well, but Fadhil was not charged over this.

On Wednesday, District Judge Terence Tay accepted the prosecution's application for Fadhil to be remanded at Changi Prison's Complex Medical Centre for three weeks for psychiatric observation. He will return to court on April 6.

He appeared in court via a video-link from Woodlands Police Division headquarters with his arm in a sling and he was seen limping when he was led away.

Under the Penal Code, those convicted of voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon or means can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or be punished with any combination of the three.

The sword used in the Buangkok Crescent attack.

The police earlier stressed that preliminary investigations do not suggest the incident to be an act of terror. They added that the suspect was remanded in the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in the past and was diagnosed with substance use disorder.

On Tuesday evening, the Internal Security Department (ISD) echoed the police in saying that Fadhil is believed to have acted alone at Buangkok. He allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is the greatest") during the incident.

ISD revealed that it had investigated him in 2016 and 2020 for sharing images of militant groups online, and threatening an imam at Masjid Al-Mawaddah mosque in Sengkang with a 22cm-long knife.

ISD also said that he was given a written warning over the first incident, because there was no indication that he was radicalised or intended to engage in armed violence.

As for the more recent incident in 2020, ISD added that joint investigations with the police at that time did not reveal that the attack was terrorism-related or that Fadhil was radicalised. He had taken pills containing dextromethorphan, a type of cough suppressant.

TODAY previously reported that right before Fadhil threatened the imam, who was conducting a religious class with about 100 students, he had slashed a student and chased after an IMH employee cycling towards the institute located in Buangkok.

Fadhil later claimed to police officers that he heard voices telling him to go to the mosque, and he put up a violent struggle while being arrested. He worked as a gravedigger at the time and was married with four children.

He was jailed for nine months and six weeks over this, and was released in July 2020 after his sentence was backdated.

Related topics

court crime sword Buangkok Fadhil Yusop attack

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