Knife-wielding man shot by police in stand-off charged with criminal intimidation, causing hurt
SINGAPORE: A knife-wielding man who was shot by police during a stand-off outside Clementi Police Division was charged with criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt.
Soo Cheow Wee, 49, was handed the charge in Court Crime Registry Chambers on Friday (Feb 18) and ordered to be remanded for psychiatric observation.
He is accused of slashing a 41-year-old man along a pavement near Block 420A Clementi Avenue 1 at about 8.40pm on Thursday. About 15 minutes later, he allegedly charged towards a 20-year-old man outside Clementi Police Division while brandishing a knife.
According to an earlier police statement, Soo did not know the 41-year-old man. The police were alerted to the slashing, and Soo then boarded a taxi to Clementi Police Division.
He was seen holding a knife and standing outside the police station, according to the police statement.
On-duty police officers approached Soo as he shouted incoherently. Despite repeated instructions to drop the knife, Soo allegedly charged at one of the officers with the knife in hand.
"As there was imminent threat to the officer, he then fired one shot at the man with his service revolver," the police said in their earlier statement.
Soo was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound on his left arm and is in stable condition.
He will return to court next month.
If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt with a knife, he can be jailed up to seven years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
For criminal intimidation, he could be jailed up to two years, fined, or both.