Man attacks woman with chopper in Beach Road

A man who allegedly attacked a woman in Beach Road with a chopper yesterday afternoon has been arrested.

The man, 46, who is believed to be the woman's husband, was Tasered and subdued by officers before he was arrested, said the police.

In their statement, the police said they responded to a case of assault with a chopper at 75 Beach Road at about 5.30pm.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found a woman, 41, with slash wounds. She was taken to hospital conscious.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the 46-year-old man had allegedly attacked the woman with a chopper," the police said.

"Prior to the officers' arrival, the man was believed to have slit his own wrists with a chopper."

The man was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital conscious. The chopper was seized. Police investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said two people were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Jeremy Ang, commander of Central Police Division, said: "The police would like to commend the members of the public who had intervened to prevent the man from causing further harm to the woman."

The alleged assailant will be charged in court tomorrow with attempted murder. Those convicted can be jailed for life, or up to 20 years with a fine, or both.

The police said they are aware of videos circulating online of the incident and urged the public to refrain from circulating them and speculating on the case.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at about 7pm, there were four police cars there, and Zhong Hua Steamboat had been cordoned off.

More than 10 police officers were present and blood stains were visible on the ground in the back alley.

An employee from an eatery nearby, who wished to be known only as Ms Zhang, said she saw a woman running out from behind one of the shops and a man coming at her with a chopper.

According to her, the man chased the woman to the front of the outlet, pressed her to the ground and hacked at her with the weapon. Her head and face were bloodied.

About seven to eight employees from the hotpot restaurant then ran out and threw items at the man until he backed away, she added. The incident lasted for about 10 minutes.

The owner of the restaurant next door, Chong Qing Origin Hotpot, who did not wish to be named, said the victim was one of his staff.

An employee of Zhong Hua Steamboat, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lin, said four staff from the restaurant came out to help.

He added in Mandarin: "I was a bit scared, but I also wanted to make sure the man didn't hurt anyone else."

Owner of Samurai BBQ, Mr Leonard Shi, 41, said he was smoking in the back alley when he heard a woman shouting and saw a man, who was about 1.6m tall, hacking at her with a chopper.

The man hacked at her twice before the chopper broke. But he continued his attack, holding on to the chopper blade and pulling at her hair.

Mr Shi said: "My manager and I threw a road sign at him. I shouted that I had called the police, but there was no response from him.

"I shouted at him to put his knife down, and he came at me with the chopper. I backed away slowly."

"If I had not helped her, she would have died," Mr Shi added.