Man held after running amok in Hougang

The man being subdued by police. He had reportedly shoved a window panel down from his flat and dented vehicles at the carpark.
The man being subdued by police. He had reportedly shoved a window panel down from his flat and dented vehicles at the carpark. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
The man being subdued by police. He had reportedly shoved a window panel down from his flat and dented vehicles at the carpark.
The man being subdued by police. He had reportedly shoved a window panel down from his flat and dented vehicles at the carpark. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

A man in Hougang left a trail of destruction yesterday after he smashed a window of his fifth-storey flat, then proceeded to hit vehicles in a carpark with a pot lid.

The 54-year-old was arrested that morning.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that the incident took place at around 8am at Block 620, Hougang Avenue 8.

The man reportedly shoved a window panel down from his flat, before going downstairs with the lid. He then used it to hit at least three vehicles at the open-air carpark at the foot of his block.

Photos of the scene showed a window panel shattered on the ground and cars left with giant dents.

Mr Wang Laifa, who lives in the next block, told Wanbao that he heard a ruckus and looked out of his window to see what was going on.

The 60-year-old, who heads a restaurant, said: "I saw him smashing the kitchen window and the glass shards fell downstairs. It was very dangerous, so I immediately called the police."

Mr Wang said he heard the sound of something being smashed not long after that. He saw from above that the man had started to attack cars with a metal lid.

Mr Wang called the police again.

When they arrived, the man was in an agitated state, he said, facing off with the police for about half an hour before he was subdued.

The police told The Straits Times that they were alerted to a case of a rash act at the location at 8.07am.

Investigations are ongoing.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 14, 2017, with the headline Man held after running amok in Hougang. Subscribe