Yishun knife incident: Man charged with possessing an offensive weapon, remanded at IMH
Screenshots of videos posted on Facebook of Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Ariff holding a woman hostage at knifepoint in a standoff with 10 police officers in Yishun.
SINGAPORE — A 42-year-old man was charged in court on Tuesday (Jan 10) after he allegedly held a 60-year-old woman at knifepoint in Yishun while in a standoff with several police officers.
Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Ariff, a Singaporean, was charged at the State Courts with one count of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place without a lawful purpose.
Faizal is accused of possessing a knife at around 7.36 am on Monday near the void deck of Block 108 Yishun Ring Road, court documents stated.
In a press conference on Monday evening, the police said that they were alerted to the incident on the same day at 7.36 am.
They said that the woman lived in the neighbourhood, and she was walking by Block 108 when the man allegedly grabbed her.
He was then accused of pulling her along with him at knifepoint for about 50m towards Block 110 Yishun Ring Road, where he was subdued and detained by the police officers at the scene.
Preliminary investigations by the Central Narcotics Bureau also revealed that the man’s urine tested positive for controlled drugs.
Eyewitnesses told TODAY that the woman is a regular patron of the coffee shop at Block 110 Yishun Ring Road. She works as a cleaner, but they were unsure of where she works.
He was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for a medical examination.
Faizal will return to court on Jan 20.
If found guilty of the offence, the man can be jailed up to three years and receive up to six strokes of the cane.
