Woman in Yishun hostage situation told cop: 'I'm old, I'm weak, I don't know why he took me'
So many things could have gone wrong.
That was what Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and former Emergency Response Officer Team Leader officer Paul Chew Qi Yang said about the Jan 9, 2023, hostage situation at Yishun Ring Road.
"At that point in time, I wasn't even worried about what was going to happen to myself. I just didn't want anything to happen to her," recounted ASP Chew in a video posted by the police on March 7.
"One fine January morning about 7am, we got dispatched to Yishun we were told that there was a man holding a woman hostage.
"I think the number one priority was no shots fired. It's a coffee shop. It's 7am in the morning. A lot, a lot of bystanders over there. You don't want any innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.
"I looked at the assailant. The assailant looked at me. I shifted my gaze. I made eye contact with her and that's when she tells me, 'I'm old, I'm weak, I don't know why he took me. Help me.'
"From our observations, he was high on drugs that made the situation more unpredictable because we had no idea how he would escalate things."
The man's urine later tested positive for methamphetamine.
ASP Chew continued: "We managed to have that window of opportunity where my colleague Syarhan grabbed him from the back. I had to go for the hand holding the knife. That's what I did. We all went onto the floor. Assailant got disarmed and the hostage got rescued."
ASP Chew couldn't be more proud of his team.
"It was the first time that we ever dealt with this kind of hostage situation," he said.
"It was a high pressure scenario. So many things could have gone wrong but they kept their composure and for that positive outcome to happen - taking down the assailant and getting the victim out unscathed."
Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Ariff, 43, pleaded guilty to one count each of drug consumption, harassment, abduction and assaulting a police officer on May 28, 2024.
He was sentenced to eight years and a month's jail, and six strokes of the cane on July 30, 2024.
In September, he was found unfit for caning due to health issues, and his sentence of six strokes of the cane was remitted. No additional jail sentence was given in lieu of caning. Details of his health issues were not disclosed.
