Man holds cleaner hostage at knifepoint in Yishun, disarmed and pinned down by police

Update on Jan 10:

Man who held woman at knifepoint in Yishun tested positive for controlled drugs

Original article:

A 42-year-old man was arrested after holding a 60-year-old cleaner hostage with a knife in Yishun on Monday morning (Jan 9).

The police told Stomp that they responded to a call for assistance along Yishun Ring Road at 7.36am.

A man had allegedly held a woman at knifepoint. He was subsequently disarmed and arrested at scene by police officers. A knife was seized as a case exhibit.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in response to Stomp queries that it assessed the woman for minor injuries after receiving a call for assistance near Block 108. She subsequently refused conveyance to hospital.

Several readers alerted Stomp to videos of the incident that have been circulating online.

The man can be seen holding a knife to the woman's neck while police officers tried to mediate the situation. He then took the woman to a coffee shop at Block 110 but did not seem receptive to negotiation efforts by the police.

The man is later seen pinned down by several officers, with the police's Emergency Response Team armed with bulletproof vests and sub-machine guns at the scene.

"Based on preliminary investigations, the man and woman are unknown to each other," police added.

Investigations are ongoing.