Man who held woman hostage at knifepoint admits to offences
Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Ariff, who in 2023 held a 60-year-old woman hostage at knifepoint near a coffee shop in Yishun, pleaded guilty to drug consumption, harassment and abduction charges on May 28.
The 43-year-old will be sentenced on June 19.
On Jan 9, 2023, Faizal held a knife to a woman’s neck at Block 108 Yishun Ring Road.
He told the court on May 28 he was then under the influence of methamphetamine or Ice, which a Central Narcotics Bureau urine test had confirmed.
Videos of the incident, posted on Facebook, showed officers from the Singapore Police Force Emergency Response Team (ERT) at the scene.
The ERT is a specialised tactical unit whose officers are equipped with tactical and counter-assault skills to respond to terror attacks and cases that involve firearms and dangerous weapons, such as knives.
The officers, who were in bulletproof vests and armed with sub-machine guns, disarmed Faizal and arrested him.
The woman suffered abrasions to her face.
Faizal was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for medical examination.
For abduction, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.
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