SINGAPORE - The man linked to the attacks on two strangers in Jurong on Dec 31 has been charged in court with one count of assault.

Lavan Saravana, 36, is said to have used a pair of scissors to stab 47-year-old Mohammad Faizal Khan Sherin Khan’s upper back at Block 338 Jurong East Avenue 1.

Court documents did not disclose the reasons for the attack, which happened on New Year’s Eve at 4.50pm.

Lavan had allegedly punched another man several times before the stabbing incident, preliminary investigations by the police showed.

The identity of the 44-year-old victim was not revealed.

After Mr Khan was assaulted, Lavan approached a 15-year-old minor, who managed to run away and alert the authorities, the police said earlier.

Mr Khan was conscious when he was taken to hospital, while the other man declined to be taken there.

After the incident, a police spokesman revealed that Lavan did not know the teenager and the two men. The police, who were alerted to the incident about four minutes after Mr Khan was assaulted, established the attacker’s identity through ground inquiries and with the help of images from police cameras.

Officers from Clementi Police Division arrested him later that same day in Jurong East Avenue 1.

He is now remanded at the Changi Prison Complex medical centre for an examination, and his case has been adjourned to Jan 16.

For voluntarily causing hurt to another person with a weapon, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.