S'pore man, 60, threatens another man, 70, with knife during argument about alleged debt

While arguing about money issues at a pavilion shelter, a 60-year-old man got a knife with a 21cm-long blade and used it to threaten a 70-year-old man to return money that was allegedly owed.

He also pushed the victim and pinned him down on the ground to further threaten him.

On Aug. 12, Mah Wye Horng pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal intimidation.

Two other charges, involving the possession of a weapon and the use of criminal force, were taken into consideration for sentencing.

He was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail.

What happened

According to court documents, Mah and the victim were acquainted with each other.

They were at a pavilion shelter in Marsiling at around 9am on Mar. 31, 2026, when an argument broke out between them.

Mah claimed that the victim owed him money.

A few minutes later, Mah left and went home to retrieve a knife from his kitchen. It had a 21cm-long blade and a 12cm-long handle.

The victim had also left the pavilion, then returned there to rest at around 9:10am.

Mah went back to the pavilion to look for him, initially keeping the knife at the back of his pants as he confronted the victim again.

He demanded that the victim return him the money the victim allegedly owed him, but the victim refused.

This prompted Mah to take out his knife and wave it in front of the victim.

He also pushed the victim by the neck, causing him to fall backwards from his seat.

Mah pinned him down on the ground for a few seconds before getting up.

After the victim stood up as well, Mah again waved the knife in front of his face while standing in close proximity to him.

Mah threatened the victim with injury, intending to cause him alarm, the prosecutor argued.

Arrest

A bystander who witnessed the physical confrontation stepped in to persuade Mah to calm down.

Mah eventually sat down, but later tried to leave the scene.

It was this bystander who again persuaded him to stay behind and police arrested him that day.

The prosecutor sought a jail sentence of 10 to 12 weeks, highlighting that Mah used a knife with a "rather long blade" and was waving it very close to the victim's face.

He also pointed out that there was some level of premeditation behind the offences because Mah had left the pavilion to retrieve the knife with the intent to confront and threaten the victim.

The court ultimately sentenced Mah to 10 weeks in jail, backdated to the date of his arrest on Mar. 31.