SINGAPORE — A 61-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday (Dec 20) after what appeared to be a slashing incident in a shop at Pasir Ris that left four persons injured, including the suspect.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force told TODAY that the four injured persons were taken to Sengkang General Hospital.
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening that all four persons, including the suspect, are assessed to be in stable condition.
“I know that we are all concerned about the slashing incident at West Plaza on 20 Dec 23… The incident was not random. It is believed that it may be related to an ongoing dispute between the parties involved in the incident,” said Mr Teo, who is a Pasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency Member of Parliament.
He added that the suspect is believed to have acted alone.
A video circulating online shows what appears to be the aftermath of the incident at a shop called Royal Regent at Pasir Ris West Plaza.
In the two-minute video, two police officers can be seen entering the shop, where a man has his head covered in a piece of white clothing that looks bloody. Blood can also be seen on his bare body.
One woman is also covering her bloodied head with a piece of cloth, while another woman is helping her but her own clothes are also bloody.
Another man then emerges from the shop topless, his hands covered in dried blood, as a crowd of people gathered outside look on or are filming the scene.
A worker from a massage shop opposite Royal Regent, who declined to be named, told TODAY that he was tending to a customer when he suddenly heard screams from outside.
“I went out to see what happened. That’s when I saw one of the shop’s workers was slashed, there was blood,” he said.
Feeling scared for his own safety, he quickly returned to the shop and did not dare to step out for a while.
“Once I heard things calm down a little, I went out again and saw the ambulance and the victims being carried out on stretchers.”
When TODAY arrived at the scene at about 9pm, the area outside Royal Regent was still cordoned off by the police. The cordon was then extended to surrounding shops.
Police officers could be seen both inside and outside Royal Regent, which sells a variety of goods such as bag, shoes, face masks and top-up services for mobile phone plans.
A 75-year-old retiree living in Pasir Ris, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, told TODAY that he knows the owner of Royal Regent and the family because he would usually visit the shop once a month for mobile phone services.
“I just spoke to the shop owner’s mother… she’s very sad and worried right now, she kept crying.”
He was only aware of the incident when he met the shop owner’s mother at a nearby coffee shop at around 6.30pm. “There were many police officers carrying rifles when I first got here,” Mr Lee added.
Police investigations are ongoing.