In dangerous situations, we often rely on the authorities to react quickly and prevent any serious accidents. At times, they can even prevent such cases from escalating at all.
That was what happened recently when an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) case officer was told that a patient wanted to “kill people”.
Immediately concerned, the officer filed a police report, which led to a search party for 22-year-old Mustaqim Zakaria on 13 Jan 2022.
Police eventually found him at Woodlands Waterfront Park with a chopper in his possession.
Mustaqim pleaded guilty in court yesterday (15 Mar) to 2 charges, and has been sentenced to 21 weeks’ jail.
TODAY Online reported that Mustaqim had called his IMH case officer at around 5pm on 13 Jan, to tell her that he wanted to “kill people” and “kill everyone”.
The 22-year-old allegedly shouted this over the phone in Malay. Alarmed by the call, the officer promptly filed a police report, which led to an islandwide search for Mustaqim.
Police eventually found him at 8.45 pm the same evening, at Woodlands Waterfront Park.
When they conducted a search on his belongings, they reportedly discovered a 30.5cm chopper with an 18.5cm blade.
An investigation into the incident revealed that Mustaqim had gone to a supermarket to purchase the chopper after calling his case officer.
He then covered it up in a clear plastic bag before going to the park.
According to TODAY Online, police investigations also revealed that Mustaqim had bought the knife to kill his father for disowning him.
This is apparently not his first charge for an offence. Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan noted that Mustaqim was a repeat offender who had faced similar charges before.
When asked for his mitigation plea, Mustaqim merely requested his phone, which was with his investigation officer (IO).
The judge then questioned if he truly had no care for how long he might be in prison. To this, Mustaqim allegedly said, “No, ah, nothing, nothing.”
The judge eventually sentenced Mustaqim to 21 weeks in jail for 1 count of being armed with a weapon, and another week for an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act.
The situation in Woodlands could have escalated to unspeakable violence, had the IMH case officer and the police not acted as quickly as they did.
Kudos to them for their prompt responses, preventing any harm to the wider community.
More importantly, we hope that Mustaqim receives the help he needs to prevent him from reacting in such a way again.
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Featured image adapted from AllTrails.
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