Saluting our dedicated officers on the ground!
By: Kamal Hakim
Sergeant Ezekiel
My family and I were enjoying our afternoon at home during my day off on 28 Sep 2020. This peacefulness was interrupted when we suddenly heard screams of a woman coming from downstairs. My house on the third floor overlooks the carpark. As I peered out, a shocking sight greeted me – a young lady was frantically fleeing from a knife-wielding man!
The woman was screaming and clearly in distress. I know this might sound quite dramatic but I quickly dashed out of the house while telling my family members “I need to go down, I need to save the girl!”.
It wasn’t wise to confront a man with a knife alone so as I ran past some migrant workers who were working nearby, I asked if they had anything I could use to protect myself. They quickly handed me a hoe from their worksite and I ran towards the couple.
Once at the carpark, I saw that a driver had stopped and used his car to block the man from reaching the woman. The man was still waving his knife and shouting incoherently.
A crowd had already formed by then. For everyone’s safety, I knew I had to defuse the situation as soon as possible. I addressed him calmly. “I’m a police officer. Please drop your knife.”
Suddenly, he began charging towards me with his knife. Fortunately, I managed to deflect his blow by quickly swinging the hoe at him. He backed away. I saw the man’s eyes darting around when he realised that there wasn’t anywhere for him to run. The crowd had him surrounded. In a panic, he pointed the knife towards himself and started slashing at his own arms.
I took this chance to quickly grab his wrist and disarmed him. Some nearby onlookers then rushed in and together we successfully subdued the man. Soon enough, police officers arrived and arrested him. Both the man and woman were later brought to a hospital to treat their injuries.
After the incident, people often asked me whether I was afraid during that situation. I can honestly say that of course I was scared! But at that moment, taking actions to ensure the safety of the woman helped me overcome my fear.
I’m a Community Policing Officer from Choa Chu Kang NPC and we specialise in engaging with the community. We’re also trained to safeguard the people around us. I am glad that I was able to intervene in time before serious harm was inflicted to the woman and the man, himself.
Explore Our Content
Editor's Pick
