SINGAPORE - Family members of the man slashed by a neighbour outside his home told The Straits Times they were surprised he was attacked because he is "friendly and gentle".
Mr Abdul Majid Maarof, 62, was cut with a chopper on Monday evening as he tended to his bicycle outside his Marsiling Road flat.
His sister-in-law, Madam Lisa Saidi, 45, said she was shocked when she heard of the incident, adding: "Majid likes to joke, and he's usually very quiet unless you talk to him."
When The Straits Times visited Mr Majid at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, he looked tired but was otherwise able to talk and move his hands and feet, which were swaddled in bandages following an operation in the morning. He had sustained injuries to both of his arms, legs and face.
He declined to speak to the media.
It is not known what sparked the attack, but neighbours told reporters the two men did not get along.
Mr Majid's attacker, who was known by his nickname "Gemuk" (Malay for fat) to neighbours, fled back to his unit, locked himself inside and set the flat on fire.
He was later found dead by Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel when they broke into his one-room flat to put out the blaze.
