Alleged knife attack in Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre believed to have happened in Korean church

The alleged knife attack that led to the arrest of a 44-year-old woman in Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre on Oct. 26 took place in a Korean church, according to the owner of a nearby shop.

The church has occupied a small space in the shopping centre for four to five years, and the alleged attacker and victims were regular churchgoers, the shop owner told Mothership.

The police were alerted around 12:20pm to the woman allegedly attacking two other women and arrested her when they arrived at the scene.

The victims, aged 36 and 44, sustained injuries during the attack and were conveyed conscious to the hospital, while the woman arrested will be referred for psychiatric assessment.

A 59-year-old man who had assisted to detain the assailant before the police arrived sustained minor injuries but refused to be brought to a hospital, the police said.

Cordoned off

When Mothership arrived at the shopping centre around 3:30pm, there were three police cars parked outside.

The crime scene, located at a corner of the third floor, was cordoned off at both ends and could not be clearly seen from beyond the police tape.

Several people, including young children, were still inside the cordoned-off area, going towards and out of the restrooms in the corner, with a few accompanied by a police officer.

There was also a stairwell beside the restrooms that led out of the building.

Officers stood guard outside a room and covered its windows with boards, but a rack of sandals could be seen.

After the police removed their tape and left, Mothership saw that it was a very small room that bore no signboard or any name.

Inside, as seen through the boards that covered the glass door, there was a table, chairs, shelves, and a door that might lead to another room.

What the shop owner saw

A neighbouring shop owner said he saw police officers leading a woman out in handcuffs at around 12:20pm, and paramedics bringing out two other women.

He recognised all three of them as they would come often to attend the church, the shop owner told Mothership.

He showed Mothership footage from the CCTV cameras outside his shop, which he said captured the supposed assailant, wearing a red shirt, turning the corner towards the church.

She had arrived roughly five minutes before the police did, according to the shop owner.

He added that people attended the church every week, and most have been families, including seniors and young children.

He heard children screaming as they ran from the corner around the time the attack happened.

Other shop owners in the shopping centre shared that they saw an ambulance outside as well as many police officers enter the place, but they did not know what happened.

According to preliminary investigations, the woman had acted alone.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top images by Wu Xueting/Mothership