His case will be heard by the court again on Apr. 25.
Elderly woman's account of what happened
Speaking to Shin Min, the elderly woman and her daughter said that before the accused allegedly threatened them at their flat, he had apparently been yelling for around 10 minutes while pacing the ground floor of the public housing block.
At one point, another man swung by their unit to ask for directions, so the elderly woman began conversing with him outside their flat.
Upon noticing their conversation, the accused allegedly ran over and began yelling at them, screaming at the woman to return inside her unit.
She surmised that the accused did so because he thought that she and the man were talking about him.
As the man who asked for directions ran away, the elderly woman said she also quickly returned to her flat and closed the door.
Accused taken away by police
However, the elderly woman claimed that the accused did not stop his threats even though she complied with his command, reported Shin Min.
"After I closed the door, [the accused] was still standing outside the flat. He did not leave and continued to yell incessantly. He even asked all of us to come out," alleged the elderly woman.
The man's alleged deeds, along with the knife he purportedly carried, terrified the elderly woman, as well as her two daughters and granddaughter, who were inside the unit at the time.
After they alerted the police, police officers who arrived at the scene were heard telling the accused to lie face down on the ground.
The man did not appear to resist or evade arrest, and he was taken away by the police later on, recounted a witness.
Accused's relatives live in public housing block
According to the elderly woman, the accused's family members are also residents of the public housing block, reported Shin Min.
However, his relatives did not come out of their flat until police officers arrived at the scene on Apr. 11.
In response, the accused's uncle told the Chinese daily that his wife used to take care of the accused when he was young.
However, the accused did not stay with the family, and he made "a sudden appearance" at their flat on Friday, added the uncle.
As the accused was "yelling" and "appeared to be emotionally unstable", the uncle said they decided not to open the door for him.
Helplines
If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:
- SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767
- Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
- Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)
- Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)
- SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001-01-4616 | WhatsApp: 65714400 (for targets of online harms)
Top images via Shin Min Daily News
