Sunday, Dec 02, 2012
SINGAPORE - He seemed like a friendly man.
But for some reason, the 50-year-old snapped on Wednesday night at an Hougang coffee shop.
As stallholders, customers and passers-by watched in horror, he tossed tables, chairs and cutlery all over the place.
He brandished a chopper, then grabbing a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder and a lighter, he threatened loudly to blow up the coffee shop, keeping police officers and a stunned crowd, who had gathered, at bay.
When it appeared there would be no end to his madness, one officer raised his Taser gun and squeezed the trigger, sending the man crumpling to the ground.
The stand-off at a coffee shop at Block 681, Hougang Avenue 8, lasted for about two hours, said some witnesses.
The man was arrested and taken to hospital.
The night of high drama began when the man turned up at the coffee shop at about 10.30pm.
He started shouting from behind the counter of the drinks stall and grew even more agitated when the police arrived.
Several customers and stallholders in the coffee shop fled the scene when police officers told them to leave.
The man continued shouting, then took a sip from a beer bottle.
One police officer, who was standing outside the coffee shop with his colleagues, was seen trying to calm him down. But to everyone's shock, the man grabbed a chopper from a stall and waved it at the officers.
Wrecking the shop
As he stepped out from behind the counter, the man started flipping over tables, chairs and everything in sight.
The commotion quickly attracted a crowd, some taking pictures and videos of him.
Oblivious, the man continued his rampage.
Walking back to the drinks stall, he swept several cups to the ground.
A group of six police officers, armed with shields, then moved in.
One raised his hands in the air as he tried to placate the man from several feet away.
But the man was not appeased.
He threw a glass bottle at the police officers but it missed, smashing into the ground.
The police officers didn't back off but one was heard telling the crowd: "Move back! Move back!"
Then, to everyone's horror, the man put a blue LPG gas cylinder on the counter of the drinks stall.
As the minutes ticked by, the man took out a lighter and lit a cigarette.
Puffing away, he stood at the drink stall, as if contemplating his next move.
He then held his lighter near the gas cylinder as if to ignite it.
The police officers cautioned bystanders again to stand back as they hurriedly cordoned off the area.
"He's crazy," someone muttered from the sidelines.
By now, the police officers had advanced closer to the man. This time, one had a Taser gun.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers were also on stand-by. It dispatched a fire engine and an ambulance to the scene.
Finally, when it became apparent that the man would not give up, one officer Taser-ed him.
A loud pop was heard and as the man collapsed, the officers, which included a policewoman, rushed forward, climbing over toppled items to apprehend him.
The crowd clapped, showing their approval at the police officers' actions.
Student Raj Kamal Vasudevan, 22, who lives at Block 666, said he had gone to his father's Indian food stall at about 11pm to have dinner with his father and some of the stall's workers when he heard the commotion.
His father's stall is located at another coffee shop in the same block.
Said Mr Raj Kamal: "I heard non-stop shouting, so I went to take a look. And when I went there, the man was still shouting.
Death threat
"My friend told me he was shouting in Mandarin, 'Bring my boss, I want to kill him!'"
Although it was late, he said a large crowd of onlookers had gathered to watch the drama.
As the mayhem intensified, Mr Raj Kamal whipped out his smartphone and began recording it on video.
He said the police arrived swiftly at the scene, but they had to wait to apprehend the man.
He said: "The policemen were waiting for the right time as he was holding a lighter. I was shocked and a lot of people were scared."
Another resident in the crowd, Madam Jasmin Sorna, 59, a housewife, said she recognised the man and that he was a friendly person.
According to her, the man's primary-school going daughter was among the crowd of bystanders on Wednesday night.
She said she has not seen his wife lately and that he tends a stall selling bee hoon in that coffee shop, but was unsure if he was the boss of the stall or just a worker.
Madam Jasmin, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 11 years, said: "I was very shocked that he became like that. He's actually a very nice man.
"So far, when I see him around, he doesn't harm anyone. He would sit alone and drink quietly, then go home."
A police spokesman said they received a call at 10.40pm about the incident.
The man was arrested for criminal intimidation and was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with minor injuries, she added.
The spokesman explained that when a subject refuses to heed police advice and turns aggressive, it is necessary to use a Taser.
A Taser is a stun gun used to generate a high-voltage but low-amperage electrical charge. This means the charge has a lot of pressure behind it, but with little intensity.
Due to the high voltage, the charge will pass through heavy clothing and skin.
But at around 3 milliamps, the charge is said to be not intense enough to damage the body, unless applied over extended periods of time.
Shaking her head, Madam Jasmin said: "It was mad, very mad."
However, she was impressed by the police's intervention, especially the policewoman's.
"She was very brave, and I felt very proud about that," said Madam Jasmin.
