Man, 64, locks himself up in room, allegedly stabs police officer with knife after standoff in Toa Payoh

SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old man will be charged on Tuesday (Feb 9) with voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, criminal intimidation and suspected drug-related offences after a standoff with the police that ended with an officer getting stabbed.

In a news release, the police said that the incident took place at Block 124, Toa Payoh Lorong 1 on Monday.

The police had received a call at about 8.50am from a man who said that his grandmother’s tenant had locked himself up in his room and threatened to commit suicide.

When the police arrived, the man was yelling and refused to heed the officers’ repeated calls to open the door.

The police then sought assistance from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and its officers broke into the man’s room.

Upon entering the room, the police said that the man was seen holding a canister of butane fuel and a lighter in his hands.

He then allegedly charged towards the officers.

In the ensuing struggle, the man allegedly stabbed a police officer on the left thigh with a knife.

The 28-year-old officer is conscious and receiving treatment at the hospital for his injuries while the suspect was taken to the hospital for medical examination.

The police said that they will work with the prosecution to seek a court order for the man to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment.

If found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt, the man can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or caned.

If found guilty for the offence of criminal investigation, the man can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined, or both. The offence of consuming either controlled or specified drugs carries a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Cheong Chee Ming said that police work can be extremely unpredictable, where officers need to exercise vigilance in “every single incident they respond to”.

“Officers’ actions to mitigate situations like these are not without risks. The priority will always be to contain the threat quickly and minimising casualties.

“Every turn of the situation requires the officers to make split-second decisions to intervene as any delay may worsen the situation, risking further harm or even death. In this instance, our officers moved in quickly to subdue the man and prevent any severe injury to anyone, including to himself,” he said.