Man allegedly threatened by 4 people with parang at Canberra Street due to car rental agreement

The police have arrested two men and two women, aged between 30 and 38, for their suspected involvement in a case of abduction and possession of a scheduled weapon.

An Aug. 5 police news release stated that at about 1:55am on Aug. 4, the police were alerted to a case of a man allegedly being threatened by a group of persons with a parang at a carpark along Canberra Street.

Allegedly threatened with parang

Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was confronted by the four due to a dispute over a car rental agreement.

The 38-year-old man from the group reportedly brandished a parang and threatened the victim.

The victim was then asked to sit in the front passenger seat of his vehicle.

He was reportedly driven to another location by the 38-year-old man, together with the 36-year-old man seated as the rear passenger.

Vehicle collided into lamppost

Officers from Woodlands Police Division then acted on information received and located the victim's vehicle.

Upon seeing the police, the 38-year-old man fled in the vehicle with the victim and the 36-year-old man as passengers.

The police gave chase, after which the pursuit ended when the vehicle collided into a lamppost at the junction of Woodlands Avenue 7 and Woodlands Avenue 10.

The 36-year-old man then fled on foot while the 38-year-old man was arrested at the scene, with a parang recovered in his possession.

The 36-year-old man and two women, aged 30 and 38, were separately arrested through follow-up investigations.

Penalties

According to the release, the 38-year-old man will be charged in court on Aug. 5 with the offence of Abduction under Section 362 of the Penal Code 1871 and Possession of a Scheduled Weapon under Section 7 of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.

The offence of abduction carries a jail term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with caning, or with any combination of such punishments.

The offence of possession of a scheduled weapon carries a jail term not exceeding five years and shall also be punished with not less than six strokes of the cane, a fine of up to S$2,500, or both.

Police investigations are ongoing against the 36-year-old man and the two women.