Man brings folding knife to church where priest was stabbed, assisting police with investigations

Man who brought folding knife to church believed to be a handyman: Police

Less than a month after a priest was stabbed at a church along Upper Bukit Timah Road, a man understandably raised the alarm when a folding knife was found in his possession at the same church.

In a media release on Sunday (1 Dec), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted to the incident at about 12.35pm that day.

Man with knife discovered by church volunteers

A 36-year-old man was found with a folding knife in his pocket at 620 Upper Bukit Timah Road — the address of St Joseph’s Church (Bukit Timah).

This was discovered by “vigilant church security volunteers”, SPF said.

When the police arrived, the man complied with instructions and his folding knife was seized.

Man with knife is regular church attendee

The man is a regular attendee of the church, SPF said.

He is also believed to be a handyman, it noted, adding:

He purportedly forgot to keep the folding knife with his other tools after an earlier job.

The man is assisting police with its investigations, which are ongoing.

Archdiocese grateful for the alertness of volunteers

In a statement on Sunday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said the incident occurred after the 11.30am mass.

The knife was found when the man was checked by an alert church security volunteer, it added.

The Archdiocese and the church expressed gratitude for the alertness and dedication of the volunteers on duty, saying “all churches in the Archdiocese have been encouraged to be proactive and step up their security measures”.

This includes announcements and posters around church premises encouraging vigilance.

Priest was stabbed by knife-wielding man on 9 Nov

The increased vigilance comes after 57-year-old Father Christopher Lee, Parish Priest of the church, was attacked by a knife-wielding man in full view of the congregation celebrating the 5.30pm mass on 9 Nov.

The alleged attacker was later identified as Basnayake Keith Spencer, a 37-year-old Singaporean Sinhalese man.

He was charged in court on 11 Nov with voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.

Father Lee was discharged from hospital six days after the attack.

He was placed on medical leave to recuperate fully after being discharged, the Archdiocese said.

Also read: Man who stabbed priest at Upper Bukit Timah Road identified, was previously jailed for stabbing ex-girlfriend

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Featured image adapted from St Joseph’s Church Bukit Timah on Facebook.