Reformative training for teen who punched dad’s face and threatened uncle with knife
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The offender pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, criminal intimidation, harassment and cheating by personation.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE - Following an argument with his father over his allowance, a 15-year-old boy charged at his parent with a knife and punched the man’s face.
Over a year following that incident, the teenager used a knife to threaten his maternal uncle, who had refused to give him money.
On Jan 5, the offender, who is now 17 years old, was ordered to undergo reformative training for at least a year after he pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, criminal intimidation, harassment and cheating by personation.
The teen, who cannot be named due to a gag order, had also used a fake identity card to try and collect a mobile phone from a store, in response to an advertisement to earn “fast cash”.
During reformative training, youth offenders are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.
Court documents stated that the offender and his 51-year-old father were in a Housing Board flat on July 14, 2024, when they started arguing over the amount the teenager should receive as his allowance.
During the tiff, the teenager went into his room, retrieved a karambit – a knife that has a curved blade – and charged towards his father.
The man managed to wrestle the knife away from his son, but the latter punched his face.
On March 8, 2025, the pair got into an argument over air-conditioner usage. The teen then retrieved a knife with a 23cm-long blade from his room.
After that, he held the knife while standing near his father and keeping silent.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Vishnu Menon said: “The accused behaved in this threatening manner, intending to cause alarm to the victim.”
The teenager was later living with his maternal uncle when he asked the man for $30 on Oct 25, 2025, but was turned down.
The boy then retrieved a karambit from his room and placed the weapon at his uncle’s throat, asking the man if “he knew he could be killed”.
The Straits Times had earlier reported that there has been an increase in the number of knife-related crimes.
There were 75 such incidents reported in the first half of 2025, up from 59 in the same period in 2024. There were 131 incidents for the whole of 2024.
