Rescue efforts: Medics attending to a person at the scene of the crime. — The Straits Times/ANN
A knife attack in Hougang left one woman dead and two others, including the suspected assailant, injured.
The 34-year-old woman, who is believed to be a worker at the hardware store where she was attacked, was seriously injured during the attack and found with stab wounds.
A 26-year-old man – another worker – was also wounded, the police said. The 42-year-old suspect, believed to be also a worker at the store, has been arrested, said the police in a statement.
The police said: “He was found with injuries sustained during the attack and was conveyed to the hospital. Preliminary investigations revealed that all parties are known to each other.”
A woman in her 60s working at a nearby department store said she heard loud screams coming from Quan Long Nippon Paint hardware store at about 11am yesterday. The woman, who declined to be named, said: “We heard a woman screaming, and some people went to see what was going on. They came back quickly and told everyone to hide in the store because there was a man with a knife.”
She added that workers and several customers from the department store then hid in the shop until the police came.
The police cordoned off the hardware store and the next-door fruit stall and jewellery shop.
The suspect was believed to have pulled out a knife in the shop and attacked the woman, who tried to run but could not get away. A worker intervened and suffered injuries after wrestling with the man. According to witnesses, the woman suffered multiple cuts to her back.
Witnesses said paramedics arrived minutes later, and heavily armed police officers quickly secured the area.
Staff at Intemedical Kovan, a clinic next to the hardware shop, said Dr Chong Wen Yu had gone out to help those injured during the incident. He declined to comment when approached.
All three were taken to hospital, with the attacker escorted by police officers. The woman died from her injuries in hospital.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force, in response to queries, said it got a call for help at about 11.05am, and later took two people to Changi General Hospital and one person to Sengkang General Hospital.
The suspect is expected to be charged with murder on Dec 12 and, if found guilty, faces the death penalty.
This is the third case of murder or suspected murder in less than two weeks.
On Nov 30, a 66-year-old man was charged with the murder of a 67-year-old woman in her Ang Mo Kio Housing Board flat.
On Dec 2, the body of a 30-year-old woman was found inside a HDB flat in Dover. The police are seeking assistance from overseas authorities to locate a man connected to her death.
There have been nine cases of murder or alleged murder so far in 2024, including the Ang Mo Kio and Dover cases. — The Straits Times/ANN
