By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 15/08/2013
Four men help police arrest armed robber
SINGAPORE: Police arrested a 52-year-old man for armed robbery with the assistance of four public-spirited members of public.
At about 2.15pm on August 14, a 30-year-old woman was standing along Serangoon Road to hail a taxi when an unknown man walked past her.
The man suddenly turned around and whipped out a knife from his jacket and pointed it at her.
He started tugging at her mobile phone and wallet which she was holding in her hands.
During the tussle, she dropped her wallet onto the pavement as she lost her balance and fell.
The man picked up the wallet and fled towards St Michael's Road.
Three men - Kong Chun Yuen, 56, Kong Ngai Kiong, 54, and Veluchamy Seshakumar, 39, - were on board a bus when they witnessed the incident.
They immediately signalled the bus driver to stop and got off the bus to give chase after the suspect.
Mr Kong managed to catch up with the suspect along St Michael's Road. He was taken aback when the suspect turned around and pointed a knife at him.
The suspect then continued running down St Michael's Road.
A fourth Samaritan - 48-year-old Somasunthram Niranjan - was driving along St Michael's Road when he saw the suspect brandished a knife.
He got off his car and joined in the pursuit.
The four men eventually caught up with the suspect and wrestled him to the ground.
Mr Seshakumar wrenched the knife from the suspect's hand and Mr Niranjan called the police while the rest pinned the suspect to the ground.
Officers from Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre responded swiftly to the incident and arrested the suspect.
The officers searched the suspect and found the victim's wallet and two paper-cutters each measuring about 15 centimetres.
Police seized these items, along with the 30-cm long knife which the suspect had used in the robbery.
The suspect will be charged in court on August 16 with armed robbery.
If convicted, he could be jailed up to 10 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.
A court order will be sought to remand him for further investigations.
Acting Commander of Central Police Division, Superintendent Tan Kuan-Wei, on Thursday commended the four brave men for their selflessness in coming to the woman's aid and thanked them for their assistance in apprehending the suspect. - CNA/fa
