SINGAPORE, Aug 3 — A 24-year-old man was today (August 3) charged with cutting and damaging many National Day decorative banners near Punggol Walk a day earlier.

Ahmad Abdullah (Wan Ahmad Yusof), a Singaporean, faces one charge each of committing mischief and carrying an offensive weapon in public.

Court documents showed that he allegedly damaged the banners on Monday  around 1.30am. 

When he was arrested near Block 211A Punggol Walk about half an hour later, he also purportedly had a kitchen knife with a 15cm-long blade and a pair of scissors.

The police said that officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division detained the alleged culprit after receiving information that a man had cut down Singapore’s national flags.

Early investigations revealed that he had "damaged multiple Singapore national flags and decorative banners displayed in the vicinity of Punggol Field, Punggol Central and Punggol Walk”, the police added.

Ahmad was charged only with damaging banners at Punggol Walk.

District Judge Terence Tay ordered that he be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation. 

He will return to court on August 17.

If convicted of possessing an offensive weapon under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act, Ahmad could be jailed for up to three years and given at least six strokes of the cane. 

He could also be handed a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, for committing mischief. ― TODAY