http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,189539,00.html?
MP Seng Han Thong was set on fire at hongbao-giving event
MP's T-shirt was completely gone
By Crystal Chan
January 13, 2009
TNP GRAPHICS: CEL GULAPA
HE HEARD shouting, and when he looked up, he saw several people chasing a man who was fleeing Yio Chu Kang Community Club.
The next thing Mr Richard Jonathan saw totally shocked him.
His Member of Parliament, Mr Seng Han Thong, was on fire.
Instinct kicked in. Heart pounding, Mr Jonathan joined the other five men and gave chase.
They ran out of the Community Club and across the street behind the neighbouring Chu Sheng Temple, where they eventually pinned the suspect down.
Smell of petrol
'I grabbed his shirt while two or three guys grabbed his hands,' said Mr Jonathan, 30, a grassroots volunteer.
'His hands reeked of petrol and the smell was overpowering.
'But on the spur of the moment, all we wanted was to catch him. It didn't cross our minds that we might also get the flammable liquid on our hands.'
He and the others then escorted the suspect to the community club to wait for the police.
Mr Jonathan said: 'He had a vengeful expression on his face and he struggled to break free from us. He had scratches on his right hand as a result.'
The suspect, who is in his 70s, is believed to be a mentally ill resident.
He has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons.
He had gone to the Community Club, at Ang Mo Kio Street 61, yesterday where Mr Seng, MP for Yio Chu Kang, was giving out hongbaos to needy elderly and bursaries to students.
Mr Seng, 58, was having a drink at the function hall after the event, which had started at about 9am and ended at noon.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect crept up behind him and poured a flammable liquid - believed to be either petrol or kerosene - on him.
He then set the MP alight with a stove lighter.
Mr Jonathan, who was standing just a few metres from the MP, said: 'It was shocking. Mr Seng was like a human torch. His scalp, back and chest were on fire and he was running left, right and centre.
'It was like a scene from TV - Mr Seng's T-shirt was completely gone.'
Mr Aw Chui Seng, the chairman of the neighbouring Chu Sheng Temple who was sitting next to Mr Seng, reportedly pushed the assailant away and was himself burnt on the neck and back.
Panic, shock
Both men are warded at Singapore General Hospital's burns unit.
Mr Seng, who suffered nearly 15 per cent burn injuries on his face and body, is under sedation in the intensive care unit, and may need skin graft.
Mr Aw's injuries were less than 10 per cent.
This is not the first time Mr Seng had been attacked.
Mr Jonathan said of yesterday's shocking attack: 'Mr Seng never screamed in pain but he was panicking. The way he ran was as if he wanted to take cover.
'As his T-shirt was burnt, someone ran to get a shirt from a storeroom and draped it over him.
'He seemed to calm down after drinking some water.'
By then, the flames on Mr Seng and Mr Aw had been put out by other grassroots volunteers who used wet napkins as extinguishers.
While the suspect appeared vindictive after being detained, he appeared relaxed when police arrested him, claimed Mr Jonathan.
He said: 'He mumbled something in Chinese before being led away.'
It is believed that the suspect had met Mr Seng on several occasions.
Volunteers at Chu Sheng Temple claimed he was upset at not getting a hongbao.
One volunteer, who asked to be known as Mr Hong, said: 'The hongbaos are only for senior citizens who are recommended by charitable organisations.'
When The New Paper arrived at SGH's accident and emergency department at 2pm yesterday, Mr Seng was about to be wheeled to the burns unit.
Except for a clump of hair on the front of his scalp, Mr Seng's hair was completely burnt.
He appeared to be in shock and did not say anything as his family members gathered around his bed.
Security was tightened at the burns unit and all visitors were screened at a police booth.
At the victims' families' request, reporters were not allowed into the burns unit.
Mr Jonathan said the attack happened so fast that nobody realised what happened till they saw Mr Seng in flames.
He said: 'No one saw the attacker sneaking up behind Mr Seng and setting him alight.'
Mr Jonathan said that even though the event had ended, there were still 25 to 30 residents there when the attack happened in the air-conditioned hall.
There was a buffet spread of Chinese food and the grassroots leaders were eating.
'Nobody noticed any suspicious characters as there were a lot of people going in and out,' he said.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, were among a string of ministers and MPs who visited Mr Seng and Mr Aw at SGH yesterday.
Other visitors included Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.
PM Lee told reporters at SGH: 'It's most unfortunate. Fortunately, his eyes are okay, his face is burnt, I think the arms and also the chest.'
He said he and his fellow MPs in Ang Mo Kio would help to look after Yio Chu Kang.
He said: 'I told Han Thong: 'Just get well, focus, concentrate, look after yourself for now, we will take on the responsibilities and look after Yio Chu Kang'.'
Yio Chu Kang residents were shocked at the incident.
A food stall operator, who asked to be known as Mr Tan, 50, said: 'Mr Seng always tries his best to help residents. I don't know why anyone would want to harm him.'