Victim was 'lying lifelessly on the floor'
Unable to find ex-girlfriend, man turns on hotel staff
"He was shouting 'let me go' and 'help me' (after people surrounded him).- Miss Farishah Ramlee, who witnessed the commotion
He watched in horror as a burly man grabbed the neck of a woman and hit her head repeatedly against the concrete of a hotel driveway.
As the attacker tried to escape, a passer-by, Mr Bryden Toh, rushed in.
Two security officers had tried to stop the man from leaving but they were struggling.
So Mr Toh, who was trained in martial arts - Akido and shotokan karate - put his rusty skills to use.
He was in front of Conrad Centennial Hotel at Temasek Boulevard when the incident happened on Friday night.
As onlookers gathered, Mr Toh, who is in his 40s, helped to pin the man, believed to be an Italian, to the ground. He said: "My only thought was that I did not want him to get away."
Mr Toh, who was attending a dinner in the ballroom of the hotel, left only after he was assured that the man could not escape. Several hotel staff tied up the man's legs until the police arrived.
Mr Toh said the man was at least 1.8m tall and spoke in accented English.
"He looked very arrogant as we held him down. He even had the cheek to say, 'I was beaten'," Mr Toh said.
When interviewed, he was modest about his contribution and said he simply wanted to help.
Miss Farishah Ramlee, 23, who works as a bartender at Outback Steakhouse across the road, witnessed the commotion.
She said: "He was shouting 'let me go' and 'help me' (after people surrounded him).
"The woman (victim) wasn't moving at all. She was just lying lifelessly on the floor."
The assailant is believed to be an ex-boyfriend of an employee of the hotel, and was looking for her on that night.
When he could not find her, he turned aggressive and attacked the victim, who was the duty manager.
The victim, who is in her 30s, was taken to Singapore General Hospital for neck pain, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force. It is understood that she was discharged yesterday morning.
Conrad Centennial Singapore confirmed the incident and said the matter is now in the hands of the police.
Police have classified the incident as voluntarily causing grievous hurt and a rash act. A spokesman said a man in his 30s was arrested.
"He was shouting 'let me go' and 'help me' (after people surrounded him)."
– Miss Farishah Ramlee, who witnessed the commotion
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