S'porean man, 37, taken back to St Joseph's Church where he allegedly stabbed priest with knife

A 37-year-old Singaporean man was brought back to St Joseph's Church in Upper Bukit Timah on Dec. 6 to visit the scene where he allegedly stabbed a Catholic priest during mass on Nov. 9.

At 2:59pm, Basnayake Keith Spencer arrived at the church restrained and wearing a face mask.

He was flanked by two Singapore Police Force (SPF) officers and was seen talking to the investigating officer.

The suspect was then brought into the main area of the church and to the seat he was at during mass.

He was escorted to the altar at the front of the church where the knife attack occurred.

Knife attack

Basnayake was arrested after the attack on the Catholic priest, Father Christopher Lee.

On Nov. 11, Basnayake was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.

According to court documents, Basnayake had allegedly attacked Lee with a foldable knife, The Straits Times reported.

The purported attack left the priest with a 8cm-long laceration on his tongue, a 3cm cut on his upper lip, and a 4cm cut in the corner of his mouth.

It also endangered the priest's life.

According to  The Straits Times and CNA, Basnayake was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in 2019 after pleading guilty to stabbing his ex-girlfriend with a knife.

Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said in a Facebook post on the evening of Nov. 9 that the man had previously declared to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) that he was Christian.

In a press statement on Nov. 9, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said the incident occurred during the 5:30pm mass, and that the man was subdued by members of the congregation, including the Archdiocesan Emergency Response team.

In response to Mothership's queries, the police revealed that the man has past antecedents for serious hurt and misuse of drugs offences.

Based on the preliminary investigations, the police believe the man acted alone and do not suspect that it was an act of terrorism.

It was later revealed that the man was found to have a total of five weapons in his possession.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong took to Facebook to express his shock and sadness regarding the news of the stabbing, adding that "violence has no place in Singapore".

"In this case, it was fortunate that several members of the congregation helped disarm the assailant before he could do more harm. Many parishioners were badly shaken by what happened, and I hope they heal from this traumatic event," he added.

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Top photos by Hannah Martens