Man found with folding knife at St Joseph's Church; assisting police with investigations

Worshippers enter the St Joseph's Church grounds in the Upper Bukit Timah area ahead of the 9.30am mass on Nov 10, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: A man is assisting the police with investigations after he was found with a folding knife at St Joseph’s Church on Sunday (Dec 1).
On Sunday at about 12.35pm, the police were alerted that a 36-year-old man was found with a folding knife in his pocket at the Catholic Church along 620 Upper Bukit Timah Road.
He was discovered by vigilant church security volunteers, the police said in a statement on Sunday.
Upon the police’s arrival, the man was compliant and the folding knife was seized.
"The man is a regular attendee at the church and believed to be a handyman," police said.
"He purportedly forgot to keep the folding knife with his other tools after an earlier job," police added.
The man is currently assisting police with investigations, which are ongoing.
In November, a 37-year-old man was charged in court over a stabbing incident at St Joseph’s Church.
The alleged attack took place during communion at the parish's monthly children's mass, where children take on duties that adults usually undertake, such as singing in the choir.
Members of the congregation, including the Archdiocesan Emergency Response team, helped subdue Basnayake Keith Spencer, who was allegedly wielding a foldable knife.
The Singaporean was handed one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon to Father Christopher Lee Kwong Heng.
He is accused of using a foldable knife to stab Fr Lee in the mouth at about 6.30pm on Nov 9 at St Joseph's Church.
The charge stated that the action caused an 8cm-long laceration on Fr Lee's tongue, a 3cm cut on his upper lip and a 4cm cut on the corner of his mouth, endangering his life.
Fr Lee, who is the parish priest of the church, underwent surgery to close his wounds and was reported to be in stable condition and recovering in hospital a day after the incident.
Four other weapons including a penknife and a mallet were later found on Spencer, who is not a regular at the church.