30-year-old man arrested over alleged attack after staring incident at Orchard Central

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a 30-year-old man over an alleged attack that took place over a staring incident in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The police said on Wednesday (Jan 3) that they had received a call for assistance at 181 Orchard Road – the address for Orchard Central mall – at 4.10am on Monday.

Preliminary investigations revealed that an altercation broke out after a purported staring incident between the suspect and an 18-year-old man.

The suspect then allegedly attacked the 18-year-old, followed by four other men and a 27-year-old woman, who had “tried to intervene and stop the attack or came across the commotion”, said the police. They added that the suspect had fled before police arrived.

The weapon was not identified by the police.

Through ground enquiries and police cameras, the police established the identity of the suspect and arrested him on Tuesday.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Tuesday that it also received a call for assistance. The six victims, aged between 18 and 30, suffered injuries and received treatment at Singapore General Hospital. They have all been discharged.

CNA understands that the incident took place on the 11th floor of the mall, where a dance club and two restaurants are located.

Ark11, the dance club, told CNA that an incident had taken place after it ended operations for the night. 

“We are unable to confirm that a knife attack took place, as the incident occurred in the public toilet area of Orchard Central for (levels) 11 and 12.  And if the time of the incident was accurate, our club was already closed during the event,” the club said.

“As the incident occurred outside our premises after we had closed after ending our operations for the night, we are not privy to any specific information about what happened,” it added.

The man will be charged in court on Thursday with voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon.

The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, caning, or any combination of such punishments.