20-Year-Old Male Suspect Arrested For Margaret Drive Chopper Attack Was Quiet
On Saturday (3 Feb) night, police arrested a 20-year-old man following a shocking chopper attack along Margaret Drive in Queenstown.
In the wake of the incident, the police and eyewitnesses have revealed more details about the young suspect, including that he lived in the area and was “quiet”.
Source: Chen Yien Chong on Facebook
He also had no criminal record.
Police received call about suspect wielding chopper on 3 Feb
In a media statement about the suspect’s arrest on Sunday (4 Feb), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) related the incident that took place the night before.
SPF said that at 7.05pm, they received a call about a man holding a chopper and running towards 301 Commonwealth Avenue. The address matches that of Queenstown MRT station.
Police officers arrived there within eight minutes and arrested the man at 1 Dundee Road — the address of Queen’s Peak condo, which is about 400m away.
Source: Google Maps
Some members of the public had managed to subdue the man at 7.18pm.
Margaret Drive chopper suspect acted alone & had no criminal records
According to preliminary investigations, the young man attacked seven people using a knife, a chopper and his bare hands.
Police recovered the sharp items from him, together with a phone, iPad and laptop.
Source: Singapore Police Force
There were “no indications” that the attacks were an act of terror, the police said.
The suspect acted alone and didn’t have any criminal records.
The police have yet to reveal any motives behind the actions.
Suspect was ‘very quiet’, says stallholder
The attacks occurred across multiple locations along Margaret Drive, including SkyResidence@Dawson, Margaret Drive Hawker Centre and Alexandra Canal Linear Park.
A Western food stallholder at the hawker centre told 8world News that the suspect lived nearby and was a regular customer at her stall.
The 76-year-old, who only identified herself as Ms Qiu (name transliterated from Mandarin), said she had seen him since he was a child.
Describing the suspect as “very quiet”, she speculated that he could’ve been bullied or suffered a blow.
Members of public help detain Margaret Drive chopper suspect
Mr Mok Kwong Heng, 61, who also works at the hawker centre, said he was on his way to dinner with friends when he saw some people running and shouting.
Moments later, he sustained a scratch as the suspect wielding his chopper also slashed a stallholder.
Meanwhile, 76-year-old fruit stall owner Mr Neo Chin Lee failed to dodge in time and suffered a strike to his head.
Mr Mok claimed that the suspect also slashed a passing cyclist on the neck. Despite his injury, Mr Mok joined a few others in chasing the suspect to Queen’s Peak, where they subdued him.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
“Fortunately, the knife wasn’t sharp,” he said, adding that the group chased the young man as they were afraid he would hurt more people.
58-year-old stallholder Mr Lin (name transliterated from Mandarin) was part of the group that helped detain the suspect.
He believed that the young man had no intention of hurting others.
The group used a water pipe to try to knock the sharp object from the suspect’s hands, Mr Lin said.
A resident of Block 31 Margaret Drive, 64-year-old Mr Fu (name transliterated from Mandarin), said that the father of one of the victims, a six-year-old girl, was also injured.
5 members of the public commended
The police commended five members of the public for helping to detain the suspect.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Serene Chiu, Commander of Clementi Police Division, said:
Their bravery and intervention stopped the actions of the offender from causing further harm to the public.
For showing courage and public spiritedness, three of them were presented the Public Spiritedness Award on Sunday (4 Feb). They were:
- Mr Mok Kwong Heng, 61
- Mr Emmanuel Ee Wei Chuan, 21
- Mr Gangatharan s/o Saravanan, 28
From left: Mr Mok, AC Chiu, Mr Ee and Mr Gangatharan. Source: Singapore Police Force
Suspect to be charged in court on 5 Feb
As for the 20-year-old man, he will be charged in court on Monday (5 Feb) with voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons under Section 324 of the Penal Code 1871.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or any combination of these punishments, the police said.
A court order will also be sought for him to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric assessment.
The police remind the public that carrying an offensive weapon in a public place without a lawful purpose is an offence.
Also read: 7 People Injured In Chopper Attack Along Margaret Drive In Queenstown, 20-Year-Old Man Arrested
7 People Injured In Chopper Attack Along Margaret Drive In Queenstown, 20-Year-Old Man Arrested
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Featured image adapted from Chen Yien Chong on Facebook and Singapore Police Force.
