SINGAPORE - A man who allegedly used a chopper to slash another man during a dispute in Bukit Merah was charged in court on Friday morning (July 15).

Nabil Erfan Kamil, 28, was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Mr Muhammad Zulfiqar Muhammad Sairul, 27, with a dangerous weapon.

Court documents said that Nabil purportedly used a chopper to slash Mr Zulfiqar's left wrist, left knee and the back of his neck at 4pm on Thursday (July 14).

Nabil has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for observation and will return to court on July 29. He faces up to 15 years' jail, caning and a fine.

The police said in a statement on Thursday night that it was alerted to a fight and a trail of blood seen at Block 116 Jalan Bukit Merah at 4pm on Thursday.

Investigations revealed that Nabil and Mr Zulfiqar were involved in a dispute.

Following the attack, the victim was taken to hospital while conscious, said the police.

Nabil was arrested at the scene.

In a similar incident, a 50-year-old man was arrested at Block 111 Jalan Bukit Merah just last month after he allegedly slashed another man's head with a knife near a coffee shop.

On June 23, a couple was allegedly attacked at a housing block in Yishun by a man, 58, with a 26cm knife.

Following a spate of knife crimes in March, Mr Desmond Tan, then Minister of State for Home Affairs, said in Parliament in April that the number of knife-related crimes has remained relatively constant over the past five years.