2 Seniors Lock Themselves In Redhill Flat For 8 Hours, Arrested For Drug Offences

Seniors Arrested Outside Redhill Flat After 8-Hour Standoff 

While the common perception of seniors is that they’re elderly folk in need of companionship and assistance, not all may be as vulnerable as we think they are.

Age notwithstanding, some seniors apparently resort to crime too. On Tuesday (3 May), after a nearly eight-hour standoff, the police arrested two male seniors for trespassing and locking themselves in a Redhill flat.

The men had also allegedly committed drug-related offences in the unit.

Two seniors lock themselves in Redhill flat for almost eight hours 

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the two senior men were suspected to have entered a fourth-floor unit at Block 89 Redhill Close when the owner was not in, though it’s unclear how they managed to break in.

After receiving a call for assistance at 11.35am, the police arrived to find two male seniors aged 59 and 62 years old, who had locked themselves in the residential unit.

The Straits Times (ST) reported that officers from the Crisis Negotiation Unit, Special Operations Command and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were deployed to the scene. The SCDF also received a call for help from the same block later that evening at 6pm.

Citing SCDF, ST noted that they had prepared two safety life air packs. Rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) were also on standby just in case.

Around 10 police officers were reportedly present at the scene. Some carried shields outside the flat while others waited at a landing on the second floor.

ST claimed that police officers didn’t have to break in and were able to access the flat at 7pm. Lianhe Zaobao, however, reported that they had to enter by force.

Police only left the scene at 10.30pm 

After gaining entry, police officers were seen escorting the two men in and out of the unit several times, noted Lianhe Zaobao.

Shin Min Daily News stated that police dogs were dispatched to search the flat. On these occasions, the investigating officer also removed evidence from the flat.

It was not until about 10.30pm that they eventually handcuffed the seniors and took the men away.

ST reported that the two men did not live in the flat.

The case, which allegedly involves trespass and drug-related offences, is still under investigation.

Hope investigations will prove fruitful

Considering how tense the standoff appeared to be, we’re glad that no violence ensued from it.

As details surrounding the case are still murky, we hope the police will find the evidence they need to conclude their investigations.

Meanwhile, let’s avoid speculating about the incident until official findings are ready for public purview.