On 23 March at 4.07pm, the Police were alerted to a case of a man shouting and armed with a knife, in the vicinity of Block 33 Bendemeer Road.
Upon arrival, the Police officers engaged the 64-year-old man, who came out of a unit, brandishing a knife at the officers. The officers instructed the man to drop the weapon, but he refused to comply despite multiple warnings. The man then advanced towards the officers, still armed with the knife. The police officers fired three taser shots at the man and retreated to create distance between the man and them. However, he continued to advance towards the officers.
As there was imminent threat to the safety of the officers, one of the officers fired a shot from his pistol at the man, and the man fell to the ground. The man suffered a gunshot wound on his chest area. Officers administered Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on the man, and he was conveyed unconscious to the hospital. The man was subsequently pronounced dead at 5.13pm.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had been walking up and down his block while holding on to his knife. He had walked towards a student in uniform, but the student was fortunately able to walk away. The man is a known drug offender and is wanted by the Central Narcotics Bureau. Drug apparatus was found in his unit.
The man also had a pending investigation for alleged offences of rash act and voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty. He had allegedly thrown items out of his window, and when officers engaged him, had used a chair to injure an officer.
Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.
There has been a recent spate of violence involving persons endangering the safety of the public, whilst armed with dangerous weapons.
The Police may have to use necessary force to subdue such persons if there is an imminent threat of harm to the public, or to our officers in the discharge of their duties.
Commander of Central Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (DAC) Jeremy Ang, said: “Police officers have a duty to ensure public safety. We face dangerous situations in the course of our work and will take decisive action, where necessary, including using necessary force, to subdue persons who pose a danger to the public or to our officers.”
Source: Singapore Police Force