What an eventful day it was yesterday, first with the hours-long standoff at Ho Ching Road followed by the raging blaze at Pulau Busing that saw brave officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force working through the night to extinguish it.
In the early evening, news emerged of a possible hostage situation involving an armed man in Jurong West, with publications jumping in on the developing story with information from “official sources”. But the police soon clarified that the case was instead about a 50-year-old man who had locked himself in the flat with two family members, who weren’t in danger. He was armed with a knife though and had threatened to harm police officers if they entered the unit.
Thankfully, no one was injured, and the man was eventually arrested after a standoff with the police that lasted more than five hours.
According to residents’ account of the incident to The Straits Times, the standoff at Blk 114 Ho Ching Road started around 1pm and ended around 5:50pm, when Special Operations Command officers barged into the house, stepping out 10 minutes later with the suspect, who appeared bruised.
The man was arrested for criminal intimidation and suspected drug-related offences, as substances believed to be controlled drugs and other drug paraphernalia were seized in the flat, the police wrote in a Facebook post.
Several police and Singapore Civil Defence Force vehicles were spotted at the scene, and an inflatable life air pack was set up at the bottom of the block, Channel NewsAsia noted.
Investigations are currently ongoing.
Reader Interactions