A 50-year-old man was arrested after a stand-off with the police in Jurong West yesterday.
The Singapore Police Force said they conducted a joint operation with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) at about 1pm at Block 114, Ho Ching Road.
The man had locked himself in the flat on the third floor of the Housing Board block with his father and girlfriend upon seeing the officers, said the police in a Facebook post. "The man had armed himself with a knife and threatened to harm the officers if they entered the unit."
The Straits Times arrived on the scene at about 5.30pm and saw about 40 to 50 officers from the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). The SCDF had also set up an inflatable safety life air pack at the foot of the block.
The stand-off began from around noon, residents told ST.
Mr Sathappan Ganesan, 45, a manager in the construction industry, said he saw bystanders as well as police officers crowded around the foot of the block at about 2pm.
Mr Sathappan, who lives just across from where the incident occurred, said he heard shouting coming from the flat shortly before police brought the suspect out.
A woman believed to be the suspect's girlfriend was released from the flat at around 5.45pm.
At about 5.50pm, officers from the Special Operations Command knocked down the door and led the suspect, dressed only in a pair of shorts, out about 10 minutes later.
He had a heavily bruised thigh.
"The man's elderly father and girlfriend were not harmed throughout the incident," said the police.
Substances believed to be controlled drugs and other drug paraphernalia were found in the unit.
The man was arrested for criminal intimidation and suspected drug-related offences.
Official sources had earlier said it was a possible hostage situation, but the police clarified that this was not so.
A man, understood to be the suspect's father, was escorted out of the flat by relatives at about 7.50pm.
Speaking to the media shortly before he was driven away, the man said his son had been released from prison in 2008, and was unemployed.
Police and CNB investigations are ongoing.
