Four police officers recount how they disarmed man holding woman at knifepoint in Yishun

SINGAPORE - From the worried look on the woman’s face, Assistant Superintendent of Police Paul Chew knew that it was a life-and-death situation.

The woman, 60, was

being held at knifepoint

by a 42-year-old man.

Recounting the incident in Yishun on Jan 9, ASP Chew, who was leading the Emergency Response Team (ERT), said his team was called in once it was confirmed that the man had a knife.

The man did not seem to be in the right state of mind and he did not comply with instructions to drop the weapon, said ASP Chew.

“I could tell that the victim was petrified to a point of barely being able to move,” he added.

“The look of concern on her face made me realise that this was a life-and-death situation, and I could not afford to make one wrong move or select the wrong choice of words.”

ASP Chew, whose wife was due to give birth a week after the incident, said he was relieved and proud that the officers from different units came together as a team to bring the woman to safety before the situation worsened.

On Friday, one day after his wife delivered a boy, ASP Chew was one of four officers involved in the incident who spoke at a police press conference to explain to the media their roles and response in the 20-minute stand-off.

Officers from the Yishun North Neighbourhood Police Centre and the ERT had rushed to the void deck of Block 108 Yishun Ring Road after members of the public called for assistance at about 7.35am.

Station Inspector Watson Tan, the duty team leader, was one of the first responders to engage the man.

He said that in his 22 years of policing, that was his first time engaging with a man who was holding a victim at knifepoint.

As coffee shop patrons and passers-by gathered around, he assigned an officer to control the crowd, while another officer continued to engage the man to de-escalate the situation.

Station Insp Tan advised members of the public to keep away if they come across a similar incident.

“We won’t know how the man will react when there’re more people around,” he said. “And I don’t want to be worried about the safety of other members of the public when I’m engaging with one victim already.”

While ASP Chew distracted the man, Sergeant (3) Muhd Syarhan Zaharin, an ERT officer, took the man down from behind.

“It happened in a split second,” he said, adding that he could confidently take down the man because they have a similar build. “I was more worried for the victim than (I was) scared.”

ASP Chew helped to disarm the man, while Station Insp Tan led the victim away to safety.

While the man tussled with several officers, Special Constable Corporal Yang Kai Siang, a full-time national serviceman, was passing by on his way to report for duty.

The 19-year-old said he instinctively moved in to help with the arrest, although he was initially confused about what was happening.

“I didn’t identify myself as a police officer, but I just felt the need to help out because I felt that any other police officer would have done the same – help out colleagues in blue,” he said.

After the man was subdued, ASP Chew ran to a waiting ambulance to see that the victim got the medical attention she needed. She was later found to have suffered an abrasion to her chin.

He said: “Even though the scene was very chaotic, I just needed to ensure the victim’s safety, and the safety of my men and fellow officers.”

He also thanked his wife, family and friends for their love and support.

“My wife was very worried,” he said. “But ultimately, I think she knows there’s a level of risk involved in what I do. She has always supported me because she knows that I’m trying to do the right thing.”

The situation took the police 20 minutes to resolve. The man was disarmed and arrested.

On Jan 10, Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Ariff was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Preliminary investigations by the Central Narcotics Bureau found his urine tested positive for controlled drugs.