Man convicted of four charges including kidnapping a toddler
A man who held his girlfriend's two-year-old son hostage in a Sembawang rental flat resulting in a 17-hour stand-off with police was convicted yesterday of four charges.
Muhammad Iskandah Suhaimi (above), 40, admitted to taking the toddler from his mother without her consent on Sept 27 last year, having a knuckleduster and possessing and taking crystal methamphetamine, or Ice, the next day.
Neither his 33-year-old girlfriend nor her son can be named due to a gag order.
At 4pm on Sept 27 last year, Iskandah told his girlfriend to buy cigarettes for him. When she stepped out of the flat with her son, he pulled the boy back and locked the main gate.
He ignored the girlfriend's requests to take the boy with her. He commanded her to buy cigarettes and challenged her to call the police.
She returned to the flat with her mother.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh said Iskandah refused to let the victim out. He said he would only do so if his girlfriend entered the flat in exchange for the boy. Neither women agreed as Iskandah had a history of violence towards his girlfriend.
Police arrived at the scene at about 7pm, 15 minutes after a call was made.
DPP Koh said Iskandah continued to refuse to release the child and demanded his girlfriend enter the flat in exchange for the boy's release.
At about noon, when Iskandah went to the toilet, a team from the Special Operations Command broke through the window and removed the front gate to enter the flat. The child was rescued and Iskandah arrested.
District Judge Carol Ling adjourned the case to Feb 26 for sentencing.
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