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Ten individuals were given Public Spiritedness Awards on Monday (Apr. 18) for their role in fending off a chopper-wielding attacker.
Cheng Guoyuan, 46, was arrested for the attempted murder of a woman believed to be his ex-wife.
The woman was saved in no small part thanks to the actions of passersby — some of whom were workers at restaurants on Liang Seah Street and contractors working nearby— who saw the attack and came to her aid.
In a video widely circulated on social media, the workers could be pelting the attacker with all sorts of objects, including chairs, signs, and baskets.
At an award presentation ceremony and media conference on Apr. 18, those receiving the awards described how they sprang into action upon realising what was happening.
"We did what we could with what we had ... Everyone was just thinking of saving the woman first," said Jackie Tee, an employee of Samurai BBQ, according to CNA.
"I was scared...but no time to think"
Tee's employer, Leonard Shi, spoke about how he knew he would "regret it for the rest of my life" if he did not help the woman.
"All I knew was that she was in an extremely dangerous situation and if I didn't do anything, her life would be in danger," said Shi.
Another man, Wei Chen Xiang, an employee at Zhong Hua Steamboat Restaurant, recalled how he'd heard the woman screaming for help.
Wei also saw the woman cradling her arm, reported the Straits Times.
"I was scared when I saw the injury but there was no time to think, we just could not let the man get close to her again," he said.
Two contractors, who were servicing air conditioning units in the area, defended the woman by grabbing ladders from their lorry and using them to deter the attacker.
"I was looking for things around me to throw at the man, and then I remembered we had a ladder in our lorry," said Pan Xiao Shuo, according to the Straits Times.
One woman, To Lee Kwee, also received the Public Spiritedness Award.
According to CNA, To, a waitress at a steamboat restaurant, helped to alert employees at a nearby hotel, who then called the police.
Cheng was charged in court on Apr. 16, 2022, with attempted murder under Section 307 of the Penal Code.
If found guilty of the offence, he will be liable for life imprisonment, imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine, or both.
Related story:
https://mothership.sg/2022/04/beach-road-victim-stable-condition
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Top via Singapore Police Force