Unemployed man, 58, hides under bed in Geylang home, threatens tenant with pen knife & scissors, given 2 years 6 months jail

A 58-year-old unemployed Singaporean man, who broke into a Geylang apartment bedroom and hid under the bed, was found and confronted by a tenant.

Charge sheets seen by Mothership stated that when the tenant tried to stop him from leaving, he swung a pen knife and pointed a pair of scissors at him.

He was also found to have controlled drugs on him, including methamphetamine and diamorphine.

Charges

Shin Min Daily News reported that Vincent Tony was sentenced to two years, six months, and three weeks' jail.

He pleaded guilty on Aug. 26 to one count of criminal intimidation, as well as two drug-related charges.

Geylang apartment unit

Charge sheets stated that some time before 7:20pm on Jan. 8, 2026, Tony broke into the apartment unit at Lorong 16 Geylang.

The apartment was unlocked, Shin Min reported, adding that he then entered the bedroom of a 27-year-old male tenant.

At about 7:20pm, the tenant, who is from Vietnam, returned home and found that his bedroom door was ajar and blocked by a table.

When he looked inside and saw that the room was disorganised, he went in to take photos.

This was so that he could send them to his roommate to verify if the latter was responsible.

The tenant then discovered Tony hiding under the bed, Shin Min reported.

Swung pen knife, pointed scissors

He immediately left the bedroom and contacted his colleague for help.

However, Tony had already come out of the room and was attempting to escape when the colleague arrived.

Shin Min reported that the tenant quickly closed the door so that Tony could not escape.

In an attempt to get the tenant to open the door, Tony swung a pen knife at him and threatened to harm him.

The colleague who arrived then seized pen knife from Tony.

However, Tony took a pair of scissors from his bag and pointed it at the tenant, threatening to harm him again.

According to Shin Min, the tenant and his colleague worked together to disarm and subdue Tony.

Drugs for own consumption

Police then arrived at the scene after receiving a report and arrested Tony, who was found to possess Class "A" controlled drugs.

Charge sheets stated that this included one packet containing not less than 4.41g of crystalline substance, which was analysed and found to contain not less than 2.97g of methamphetamine.

He also possessed two packets containing not less than 8.14g of granular or powdery substance, which was analysed and found to contain not less than 0.18g of diamorphine.

Shin Min reported that Tony admitted the drugs were for his own consumption.

He was also found with utensils intended for the consumption of a controlled drug.

They included one piece of aluminium foil and one improvised green bong with two tubing attached.

Still shaken by experience

To this day, the victim is still shaken by the experience, Shin Min reported.

When Shin Min visited the scene on the night of Aug. 26, the tenant said he still remembers the incident vividly though more than half a year has passed since then.

"The whole room was a mess, and I was really scared when I saw him," he said.

"Our belongings had been ransacked, and he had even touched our bottles and jars of liquor."

The tenant described how Tony walked to the window, intending to escape by jumping out, but gave up when he realised the unit was on the third floor.

Having worked in Singapore for five years, the victim said he did not expect to face such a ridiculous situation as he felt the country was safe.

He normally did not lock his room door as he never expected a stranger to break in.

Though he and his roommate did not experience material losses from this incident, Shin Min reported that they will lock the door in future to prevent similar occurrences.