Man stabs another man in Tampines eatery following heated argument

SINGAPORE – A 56-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly stabbed a 57-year-old man in a Tampines eatery on Thursday (June 15).

The police, who arrested the assailant for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon, said they received a call for help at Block 513 Tampines Central 1 at about 12.40pm.

Mr Sky Woo, 43, a chicken rice seller at U-Taste Restaurant, told The Straits Times that two men were drinking coffee when they got into a heated argument around noon.

They stood up and started shouting at each other. “One of them suddenly took out what looked like a flip knife from his backpack and pointed it at the other man,” he said. The man with the knife then pushed the other man to the ground before allegedly stabbing him several times.

Mr Woo said: “The victim got up and picked up a chair to try and hit the man, but was wobbling.” The victim was then slashed several times around the neck and arm, he added. The suspect fled the scene after Mr Woo shouted that the police were coming.

The victim sat on the ground, then fell to the floor. Mr Woo said the man lay in a pool of blood as people crowded around him before the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived.

The police said the man was semi-conscious when taken to the hospital. SCDF, which received a call for assistance at about 12.45pm, said he was taken to Changi General Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing.

Mr Woo said the eatery was cordoned off till about 3pm, after which the staff washed the blood off the chairs, tables and floor before reopening.

He said this is not the first time the suspect, who visited the eatery about twice a week, caused a scene. The man got into a fistfight with another man at the eatery in March, he alleged.

In April 2022, then Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan said in Parliament that the number of knife-related crimes involving murder, robbery, rioting and serious hurt has remained relatively constant, averaging about 150 annually in recent years.

He added that about 36 per cent of these crimes occurred in residential areas and 3 per cent happened in educational premises. The remaining cases occurred in other public and commercial places.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.