Man arrested at Marsiling Drive after threatening tenants

A 49-year-old man, who locked himself in his flat and kept the police at bay for nearly three hours, was arrested yesterday for committing a rash act.

The man, believed to be the flat owner, allegedly threatened a Malaysian couple, who wanted to move out of the unit at Block 1, Marsiling Drive. The man also lives in the unit.

The couple, Mr Lee Tong Way, 44, and Madam Wong Siew Ying, 36, have been living in the seventh-storey unit for the last three years.

On Monday night, the man, whom the couple call Chen, allegedly brandished a butter knife in front of them.

He allegedly told them that it was for self-defence in case he encountered the police.

Scared, the couple left the unit and spent Tuesday at a relative's place.

They then decided to move out of the Marsiling unit.

When they returned to the apartment to retrieve their belongings yesterday, the man allegedly refused to let them in.

Mr Lee, a food court stall operator, told The New Paper: "I had some money in my room.

"When I wanted to retrieve the money, he asked me if I wanted to keep my money or my life.

"He threatened to blow up the flat if we left. He thought we were betraying him."

The couple decided to call the police as they "were scared he would stab us with his knife".

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were alerted to the incident at about 1.30pm.

The SCDF said "a man had locked himself in a room".

The presence of liquefied petroleum gas prompted SCDF officers to evacuate neighbouring units and set up a water jet.

A life pack was also deployed on the first storey, and Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team rappellers were on standby as a precautionary measure.

The police said the man had barricaded himself in the unit and was arrested for committing a rash act.

When The New Paper arrived at the scene at 4.15pm, a large crowd had gathered.

A neighbour living on the same floor as the couple, who wanted to be known only as Madam Bartha, said she saw the frightened couple at her door at about 2pm. The housewife, 67, offered them food and water.

She said: "The woman was very scared and asked me not to go out."

Madam Bartha said she had not heard any disturbance in the unit or encountered any problems before the incident.

The couple retrieved their items after the man was taken away by the police at around 4.30pm.

They are now putting up at a friend's place in Lakeside.

Police investigations are ongoing.