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SINGAPORE: A police officer shot a man during a raid on a residential unit along Balestier Road on Thursday (November 5), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said.
Three plain clothes Officers entered the unit at the City Suites condominium around 1 a.m. Thursday as part of operations to track down suspects involved in a series of cheating cases.
There were four people on the floor: a 36-year-old man, a 22-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman and a 23-year-old woman.
Preliminary investigations showed that while the officers were in the unit, the 36-year-old man “suddenly lunged” at one of the officers and attacked him repeatedly, causing the officer to fall to the ground bleeding from his face, SPF said.
A second officer warned the man to stop the assault, but he did not.
The 22-year-old man was then seen approaching the officer who was attacked, and the second police officer “assessed” that he would join the older man in assaulting the police officer.
“Concerned for the safety of his partner, the second officer immediately drew his revolver and warned the (36-year-old man) to stop his assault,” police said in a press release.
The man did not comply with the warning and continued to hit the officer on the floor.
Suddenly, he ran to the second officer and grabbed his revolver, SPF said. The 22-year-old then assaulted the first officer, police added.
During the fight, the second officer “fired a bullet” from his revolver at the 36-year-old man.
“This did not immediately stop (the 36-year-old) from his attempt to snatch the second officer’s revolver and the fighting continued,” said SPF.
Both men were eventually subdued by backup officers who later arrived at the unit.
A Singapore Police press conference on the shooting of a suspect in Balestier on November 5.
The 36-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was treated by paramedics before he was taken consciously to the hospital. It is currently in a stable condition, SPF said.
Two policemen were injured. The first officer suffered injuries to his face and arm, while the second officer suffered injuries to his hands and lips. The third officer attended to the suspect.
The first and second officers felt their lives were under threat, Deputy Police Commissioner Cheong Chee Ming, Tanglin Division commander, said during a press conference on Thursday.
As a matter of protocol, the Special Investigation Section is investigating the officer’s discharge of the weapon.
THE FOUR ARRESTED
The two men were arrested for willfully causing harm to dissuade a public servant from duty, cheating and alleged drug use.
Both men are wanted for other cheating offenses.
The 36-year-old man was tracked down for being a member of an illegal assembly, as well as drug and customs-related offenses, police said, adding that he is currently awaiting sentencing for cheating offenses.
The 22-year-old man was a former police officer supervised under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act.
The other two suspects were arrested for cheating and alleged drug use. The 33-year-old is also wanted for failing to attend court, police said.
About S $ 20,000 worth of suspected crime products, drugs and drug paraphernalia were seized from the unit. Police investigations are ongoing.
The Central Narcotics Office is investigating the drug-related activities of the arrested suspects.
THREE OTHER ARRESTED
Three other people, an 18-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man, were also arrested for their alleged involvement in a series of cheating cases.
“Through a series of syndicated scams, the criminals allegedly made use of other people’s data to request and purchase new phones and phone lines from a telecommunications company,” police said.
They would then make the initial payment using the “fraudulently obtained” credit card details and sell the phones for cash after receiving them, SPF said, adding that the phone company reportedly lost around S $ 43,000 from selling the devices.
The seven victims whose data was misused also paid for mobile phone subscriptions.
On Tuesday, the police intercepted the delivery of six phones bought by the criminals. The 32-year-old man was arrested along with Geylang Lorong 23.
On the same day, police officers also seized five phones, a laptop, a signature pad and 23 SIM cards along Bukit Timah Road.
