The attack left two men, aged 76 and 40, and a six-year-old girl with minor injuries. He was conscious when he was transported to National University Hospital and was receiving outpatient treatment.
Three other men, aged 54, 21 and 20, and a 45-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries but refused further medical assistance.
At the press conference, Mok Kwon Heng, 61, Gangataran Saravanan, 28, and Emmanuel Yee, 21, were cited for their role in apprehending the suspects before police arrived. Three people were awarded the Public Spirit Award.
Yi, who was riding his bicycle nearby, was one of the seven victims. He told The Straits Times that the suspect was wearing a mask and appeared confused. There were children nearby and I didn’t want them to get hurt, so I decided to intervene.
“He was walking fast, so we were walking fast behind him,” he said. “He had a knife, so I didn’t want to get too close to him, but I didn’t want to lose him in case he sped away.”
Mok, a cleaner at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, was on her way to the Lunar New Year reunion dinner at the community center when she saw a crowd of people running towards her, shouting. Among them was a suspect armed with a helicopter.
Mok told ST: “We screamed at him and continued to chase him as he ran towards Queenstown MRT station. I stopped to call the police to get reinforcements to stop him. Ta.”
It added that the suspect ran toward the station, then suddenly turned back and ran to the park’s junction.
The group pursued him and cornered him at the Queen’s Peak Condominiums guard post on Dundee Road.
Mr. Mok said: “We couldn’t hold him back. As we approached him, he kept swinging the helicopter at us. So I picked up a stick from a branch above the tree and turned the weapon off. I told her to put it down or I would hit her.
“But he didn’t follow our orders, so I hit him on the head.”
He added that three of the men began to subdue the suspect. “Five of us think he’s now a suspect.” Ham Chinpen (Fried Chinese donuts).”