http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,199241,00.html?
Shop owner assaulted by knife-wielding man
'Like a game of cat-and-mouse'
April 18, 2009
CORDONED OFF: The shopfront was in a mess after the incident.
The next day, the man went to Mr David Sim's handphone shop with a 30-cm knife.
HE HAD a dispute with a man over a handphone that was left lying on a table.
Said Mr Sim, 50: 'He stood outside and shouted at me, asking if I had wanted to beat him up yesterday because of the dispute. I quickly moved out of my shop because if not, I would have nowhere to run.'
The man continued to stalk him in the walkway outside his shop.
Despite numerous attempts by Mr Sim to try and persuade him to put down the knife, the man continued to pursue Mr Sim (right).
'Each time he took one step forward, I would take a step backward. We were running in circles several times and it was like a cat-and-mouse game,' said Mr Sim.
The man kicked at chairs, a table, a bicycle and even a small bin which Mr Sim used to burn offerings.
CAUGHT: The suspect was arrested later. PICTURES: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The commotion occurred at about 9am on Wednesday. It caught the attention of a stallholder and some customers from the neighbouring food centre and they came to Mr Sim's aid.
'Four men tried to hold him back and take away the knife but he was too strong for them,' said Mr Sim.
He waved the knife at them even as they grabbed him.
One of them finally managed to wrest the knife away.
But the man went to a food stall and grabbed an even longer knife.
When Mr Sim saw him approaching with the 36cm knife, he picked up a metal folding chair to protect himself.
When the man lunged at him with the knife, Mr Sim used the chair to hit him on his hands, hoping that he would drop the knife.
'He had no reaction and was like a robot. He just lunged at me again with the knife,' said Mr Sim, who has been selling handphones for almost 20 years.
Then one of the four men managed to grab the knife from the man.
Mr Sim said the man then grabbed a coffee cup and hit him on the side of his head. It shattered into pieces and Mr Sim lost consciousness.
When he came to, he ran to the food centre and called the police.
Suspect
A police spokesman said a man in his 40s was arrested for criminal intimidation and drug-related offences.
He is said to have worked at one of the food stalls until about a week ago.
When the New Paper visited the scene yesterday, the stall worker who had helped subdue the man claimed that he did not know anything about the incident.
But his left arm was bandaged from the elbow to the wrist.
Mrs Wong, the owner of a clothes alteration shop next to Mr Sim's shop, said: 'I heard a lot of shouts and the sound of fighting, so I quickly pulled down my shutters and hid inside.'
Several other store owners did the same.
Mr Sim said he had a run-in with the man the night before.
He was sitting at a table a few shops away when a regular customer, Mr Ho Seng Yin, 70, went up and said there was a problem with his handphone.
Mr Sim left the phone on the table and he went to his shop to get something, followed by Mr Ho.
That was when the man approached him and said he wanted to sell his handphone.
Mr Sim said: 'He showed me a phone in one hand, and in the other he held a packet, which he kept sniffing into.
' It looked like a fully-blown up balloon when he exhaled.
'I asked my customer what that was and he told me it was glue. I didn't dare to buy the phone because I don't want any trouble.'
The man repeated himself many times and seemed to be in a daze.
Said Mr Ho: 'He was walking unsteadily and kept sniffing at the packet which looked like there was glue inside. He kept muttering to himself.'
After Mr Sim turned him down repeatedly, the man finally walked away and Mr Sim continued speaking with his customer.
Then, they realised that Mr Ho's handphone was still on the table and rushed there.
When they saw the man about to pick it up, Mr Sim asked him why he was taking it.
'Just seeing'
'He shouted at me saying 'No, I didn't take. I was just seeing it'. I quickly took the phone back,' said Mr Sim.
The man followed Mr Sim back to his shop and continued to shout at him, daring him to come out for a fight.
Mr Ho stood by watching.
'He pointed and glared at me, asking me why I said he had stolen a handphone,' said Mr Sim.
Worried for his safety, Mr Sim went to the food centre and asked two to three men sitting at a table to help him.
The group shouted at the man, telling him to go away and not to create trouble.
'He looked scared and said to me, 'Uncle, sorry,' and left. I thought that was the end of it,' said Mr Sim.
He is now worried the man might return to hurt him.
'I am the sole breadwinner and I have to support my wife and four children. I am scared,' he said.
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
Shop owner assaulted by knife-wielding man
'Like a game of cat-and-mouse'
April 18, 2009
CORDONED OFF: The shopfront was in a mess after the incident.
The next day, the man went to Mr David Sim's handphone shop with a 30-cm knife.
HE HAD a dispute with a man over a handphone that was left lying on a table.
Said Mr Sim, 50: 'He stood outside and shouted at me, asking if I had wanted to beat him up yesterday because of the dispute. I quickly moved out of my shop because if not, I would have nowhere to run.'
The man continued to stalk him in the walkway outside his shop.
Despite numerous attempts by Mr Sim to try and persuade him to put down the knife, the man continued to pursue Mr Sim (right).
'Each time he took one step forward, I would take a step backward. We were running in circles several times and it was like a cat-and-mouse game,' said Mr Sim.
The man kicked at chairs, a table, a bicycle and even a small bin which Mr Sim used to burn offerings.
CAUGHT: The suspect was arrested later. PICTURES: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The commotion occurred at about 9am on Wednesday. It caught the attention of a stallholder and some customers from the neighbouring food centre and they came to Mr Sim's aid.
'Four men tried to hold him back and take away the knife but he was too strong for them,' said Mr Sim.
He waved the knife at them even as they grabbed him.
One of them finally managed to wrest the knife away.
But the man went to a food stall and grabbed an even longer knife.
When Mr Sim saw him approaching with the 36cm knife, he picked up a metal folding chair to protect himself.
When the man lunged at him with the knife, Mr Sim used the chair to hit him on his hands, hoping that he would drop the knife.
'He had no reaction and was like a robot. He just lunged at me again with the knife,' said Mr Sim, who has been selling handphones for almost 20 years.
Then one of the four men managed to grab the knife from the man.
Mr Sim said the man then grabbed a coffee cup and hit him on the side of his head. It shattered into pieces and Mr Sim lost consciousness.
When he came to, he ran to the food centre and called the police.
Suspect
A police spokesman said a man in his 40s was arrested for criminal intimidation and drug-related offences.
He is said to have worked at one of the food stalls until about a week ago.
When the New Paper visited the scene yesterday, the stall worker who had helped subdue the man claimed that he did not know anything about the incident.
But his left arm was bandaged from the elbow to the wrist.
Mrs Wong, the owner of a clothes alteration shop next to Mr Sim's shop, said: 'I heard a lot of shouts and the sound of fighting, so I quickly pulled down my shutters and hid inside.'
Several other store owners did the same.
Mr Sim said he had a run-in with the man the night before.
He was sitting at a table a few shops away when a regular customer, Mr Ho Seng Yin, 70, went up and said there was a problem with his handphone.
Mr Sim left the phone on the table and he went to his shop to get something, followed by Mr Ho.
That was when the man approached him and said he wanted to sell his handphone.
Mr Sim said: 'He showed me a phone in one hand, and in the other he held a packet, which he kept sniffing into.
' It looked like a fully-blown up balloon when he exhaled.
'I asked my customer what that was and he told me it was glue. I didn't dare to buy the phone because I don't want any trouble.'
The man repeated himself many times and seemed to be in a daze.
Said Mr Ho: 'He was walking unsteadily and kept sniffing at the packet which looked like there was glue inside. He kept muttering to himself.'
After Mr Sim turned him down repeatedly, the man finally walked away and Mr Sim continued speaking with his customer.
Then, they realised that Mr Ho's handphone was still on the table and rushed there.
When they saw the man about to pick it up, Mr Sim asked him why he was taking it.
'Just seeing'
'He shouted at me saying 'No, I didn't take. I was just seeing it'. I quickly took the phone back,' said Mr Sim.
The man followed Mr Sim back to his shop and continued to shout at him, daring him to come out for a fight.
Mr Ho stood by watching.
'He pointed and glared at me, asking me why I said he had stolen a handphone,' said Mr Sim.
Worried for his safety, Mr Sim went to the food centre and asked two to three men sitting at a table to help him.
The group shouted at the man, telling him to go away and not to create trouble.
'He looked scared and said to me, 'Uncle, sorry,' and left. I thought that was the end of it,' said Mr Sim.
He is now worried the man might return to hurt him.
'I am the sole breadwinner and I have to support my wife and four children. I am scared,' he said.
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
