SINGAPORE — Mr Mok Kwong Heng, 61, was walking towards Queenstown Community Centre for a Chinese New Year reunion dinner event.

A few metres away, Mr Gangatharan Saravanan, 28, was having his weekly grocery run at a Sheng Siong supermarket.

Meanwhile, Mr Emmanuel Ee, 21, was cycling along the Alexandra Canal Linear Park on his way home.

They were unknown to each other, and little did they realise that their paths would converge on that fateful Saturday (Feb 3) evening, due to a chopper-wielding man who ran amok and attacked seven people at different locations in the area.

The seven victims, one of whom was a six-year-old girl, escaped with what the police described as "minor" injuries. Three of them received outpatient treatment at a hospital, while the rest declined medical treatment.

Five members of the public helped to subdue the man before the police arrived to arrest him.

The suspect, a 20-year-old man, will be charged on Monday with voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons.

The police held a press conference on Sunday to give further details of the incident, while three of the five people who received the Public Spiritedness Award for their heroics recounted the drama that unfolded.

For Mr Mok, it began just after he had ended his shift as a cleaner at a hawker centre on Margaret Drive.

He was walking "happily" with a few hawkers, their spouses, the chairman of the Margaret Drive Hawker's Association and some grassroots members to Queenstown Community Centre when he saw people shouting and running towards him.

Then he saw a young man wielding a chopper approaching the group, with Mr Gangatharan following closely behind.

Mr Gangatharan, a business development executive who had just left a Sheng Siong supermarket at around 7pm, said: “I heard people shouting, then I turned back to look and I saw this man running with a chopper, just chasing people.”

As the suspect approached Mr Mok and his group, he started swinging his chopper around.

“As I turned around, I saw he had a chopper in his hand,” Mr Mok said, “so I tried to push the chairman out of the away, but it's too late.”

Mr Mok added that the chairman of the Margaret Drive Hawker's Association sustained a small gash at the back of his head.

Stung into action, Mr Mok, Mr Gangatharan and two other people gave pursuit. They shouted at the suspect to stop and yelled at passersby to get out of harm's way.

Mr Ee heard the commotion but did not manage to react in time; the suspect came from behind him and sliced his right arm.

Undeterred, Mr Ee also joined the chase.

CONCERNED FOR CHILDREN AND ELDERLY 

For Mr Gangatharan, Mr Mok and Mr Ee, it was the first time they had encountered someone wielding a dangerous weapon.

But despite the potentially life-threatening situation, their only concern was to ensure that no one got hurt. 

“I was concerned about the children walking past since it’s a park connector. It’s where many children, people with strollers and elders would go for a walk,” said Mr Gangatharan. 

Mr Ee said: “We had to prevent him from hurting the kids. Adults can run away; there were the elderly, too, but the kids were very close by.”

He added that the suspect appeared to be in a “confused” state.

The trio tried to disarm the man by throwing dustbins, cones and plastic chairs at his legs.

At one point, Mr Mok managed to grab a metal pole that was used to support young trees in the park.

“I asked him to put down his weapon, or else we will hit him,” he said.

The suspect refused to comply, so Mr Mok struck him on the head with the pole.

The group managed to subdue the man shortly after, pinning him down near Queens Peak, a nearby condominium. 

The police arrived shortly after and arrested the suspect.

Mr Mok said the cleaver had nicked him on his arm.

“Luckily, the chopper is not sharp,” he said.