Victims and alleged attacker in Pasir Ris mall slashing were business rivals
Senior Minister and Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Teo Chee Hean visited Pasir Ris West Plaza to reassure residents and business owners on Thursday.

Items strewn and blood stains at Royal Regent store at Pasir Ris West Plaza on Dec 20, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman)
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SINGAPORE: A man who slashed three people at Pasir Ris West Plaza on Wednesday (Dec 20) was said to be their business rival and had argued with the victims before the attack.
On Wednesday, the police were called to the mall at about 4.50pm in response to a slashing incident.Â
Loh Chye Hoe, 61, was arrested at the scene for voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon. He was found with injuries sustained during the attack and taken semi-conscious to hospital, the police said.
The elderly man was charged on Thursday with attempted murder.
Three people – a 46-year-old man and two women in their 50s – were also taken to hospital. The man and one of the women were seen in online videos clutching bloodstained cloths to their heads.
Members of the public told CNA that the two women are sisters and they own Royal Regent, a shop that sells sundries and mobile phone accessories. They own another handphone shop at Loyang Point, said the interviewees, who did not wish to be named.
CNA understands that the alleged attacker owns a mobile phone shop beside the sisters' at Loyang Point. The shop believed to be run by Loh was closed when CNA visited on Thursday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Loh had allegedly armed himself with a chopper and attacked the three victims, the police said.
"The parties involved were known to each other and not on friendly terms. The chopper was seized as a case exhibit," the police added.
A worker at Pacific Mobile at Loyang Point told CNA that his employers were the victims in the slashing incident, and that the alleged attacker owned the shop beside theirs.
The worker, who declined to be named, said that Loh had tried to disrupt their business by speaking loudly outside their shop.
A worker at another shop on the same row, Mr See Chong Kern, said that there were arguments at the two mobile phone shops at Loyang Point, and this has gone on for about two years.
He added that a few months ago, it got so bad that the police were called. However, the shop owners were seldom around and appeared to be based at Pasir Ris West Plaza.
"I think there was a dispute about one shop's wares blocking the other shop ... it was a bit tense and sometimes I could hear them arguing from here," he said in Mandarin.


Although some shopkeepers had concerns about safety after a slashing at Pasir Ris West Plaza, it was mostly business as usual for the shops and workers there on Thursday.
Some heard shouting when the attack happened, but many of the workers or business owners said that they did not notice anything unusual until the police arrived.
When CNA went to Pasir Ris West Plaza on Thursday, Royal Regent was shuttered but the blood stains were gone, leaving no signs of the incident from the day before.
Most shopkeepers said they were not aware of the dispute. But a florist, who only wanted to be known as Mr Loh, told CNA that he heard the alleged attacker had come to the mall a few times to argue with the sisters before the slashing.
Madam Lim, who works at a furniture shop nearby, said that she went to check what happened when the police came to the mall. She briefly saw a woman with blood on her head walk out of Royal Regent holding an umbrella, but ran back to her shop as she was frightened by the sight.
The owners of a stationery shop nearby, who declined to be named, said that they hoped such a violent incident would not happen again as it affects business, and may endanger their safety.


There were no signs that people were avoiding the place and as lunchtime neared, office workers and residents made their way to the mall for lunch.
At about noon, Senior Minister and Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Teo Chee Hean arrived at the mall to talk to the business owners and residents at the plaza.
Mr Teo visited all the shops on the first floor in a walkabout that lasted for about half an hour. He then sat down for lunch at the food court with the chairperson of the Pasir Ris West Plaza Merchants Association. He declined to speak to the media.
Mr Teo later posted on Facebook: "West Plaza was buzzing with its usual lunchtime crowd today.
"Our merchants, residents and customers are thankful to the police and SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) for their quick response to the slashing incident yesterday.
"They are reassured that that the police (are) handling the case, and that our town is safe. We hope those injured will recover soon."
He said on Wednesday night that the incident was not random and is believed to be related to "an ongoing dispute" between the parties involved.