Police Arrest Man For Threatening Hougang Shop Assistants With 2 Knives
On 1 July, a 60-year-old man threatened shop assistants with knives at a store along Block 682 Hougang Avenue 4.
After arriving at the scene, police officers placed him under arrest.
Investigations into the matter are now ongoing.
Man threatens Hougang shop assistants with knives
Shin Min Daily News reports that around 11am on 1 July, the assistants approached the man and requested the removal of his cardboard boxes and detritus from outside their store.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
This infuriated him, and he reportedly began swearing at them before smoking in the area.
Refusing to leave even when the assistants asked him to, he continued spewing vulgarities in an increasingly aggressive voice.
The man then pulled out a knife from his trolley, waving it at one of the assistants. He subsequently wielded another knife after assuming that no one was paying attention to him.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
One of the assistants said she felt he would not harm anyone, but still contacted the police out of safety considerations.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a resident said he had been sleeping in the open area outside the store since the previous night.
Other store assistants said the man would often walk around, picking up pieces of waste.
While he would behave strangely and occasionally swear at passers-by, they had never witnessed such aggression from him before.
Man arrested for causing criminal intimidation
Another shop assistant told Shin Min Daily News that when she came to open her outlet at 8am on 1 July, the man was already in an argument.
He proceeded to quarrel with different residents and staff members, using vulgarities all the while.
She added that about five police officers arrived at the scene. The man resisted, continuing to yell and insult them while they pulled him to a nearby open space.
He was eventually handcuffed and brought away.
Speaking to The Straits Times (ST), the police said they received a call for help at 12pm on 1 July at Block 682 Hougang Avenue 4.
They then arrested him for allegedly causing criminal intimidation and voluntarily hurting to deter a public servant from carrying out his duty.
No one was harmed during the incident, and investigations are now ongoing.
The same man had also hoarded enough cardboard boxes and plastic bags for a fire to break out at the block last year.
He had recently started stocking up the items again, blocking the pathway for residents in the area, Shin Min Daily News reports.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.
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