Man, 32, argues with wife & locks himself in Ang Mo Kio flat, gets apprehended under Mental Health Act

A man allegedly locked himself at home for close to an entire day after arguing with his wife, who later called the police.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident happened on the fourth floor of Block 224 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 on Sep. 8.

In response to Mothership's queries, the police said they received a call for assistance on a report of a missing 32-year-old man at about 8:40am that day.

Preliminary investigations revealed that he could be in a residential unit at the Ang Mo Kio block, prompting police officers to enter the unit.

After they found him there, he was assessed to potentially pose a danger to himself.

A neighbour told Shin Min she apparently heard the man tell the police he wanted to cut his thigh, that he was not getting along with his wife and she wanted to leave him.

The man was apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act, which allows police to apprehend people they believe may pose a danger to themselves or others due to mental health conditions, and take them for medical treatment.

No injuries were reported.

How police entered unit

According to the neighbour, who lives on the same floor, the police knocked on her door in the morning asking if the man residing in a nearby unit was home.

She told them she was not sure.

As there was no response at the man's unit, the police allegedly returned to her door about every two hours to ask her further about whether she had seen the man.

A large group of police officers arrived at the unit at around 7pm, requesting that the man open the door, but he did not budge, the neighbour said.

She claimed that the police subsequently found someone to forcefully open the front door, which was difficult because it apparently had five or six locks.

The police decided to enter the unit at 9pm, and the man finally opened the door for them.

Marital problems

According to Shin Min, it is believed that the man locked himself at home after an argument with his wife, and she called the police for assistance.

A resident living on the third floor said the man and his wife have been talking about getting a divorce.

The wife and their four children had allegedly moved downstairs to the third floor.

Alleged drug abuse

Other residents also told Shin Min that the man apparently went to jail three times for drug abuse.

"He often does not sleep at night, and would pace the area under the block in the early morning," a neighbour said. "But [on the day of the incident], the police arrived before he had gone out."

The neighbour added that after the man returned home from jail the year before, he quickly grew very skinny, leading the residents to wonder if he might be using drugs again.