SINGAPORE, Sept 30 — The 39-year-old man who held a two-year-old boy hostage for 17 hours was charged today with the possession of a knuckle duster.
Police also said that he is still under investigation for wrongful confinement and drug-related offences.
He will be remanded for two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health for psychological evaluation, and is expected to appear in court again on October 14.
Muhammad Iskandah Suhaimi was involved in a 17-hour standoff with the police which started on Tuesday evening, after locking himself in a flat with his girlfriend’s two-year-old son in a fifth-floor unit at Block 462 Sembawang Drive.
The standoff in the neighbourhood of rental flats started after Iskandah had a dispute with the boy’s family members, and held the toddler in the unit.
Police said they received a call requesting for assistance at Block 462 Sembawang Drive at 6.44pm and when officers arrived, they found that the man refused to open the door.
At about noon the following day, Crisis Negotiation Unit and Special Operations Command officers smashed through the window panes to rescue the toddler.
They also cut the locked gate to arrest the Iskandah.
He was charged today under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act for possessing a knuckle duster without lawful authority or for a lawful purpose.
If convicted of possessing a scheduled weapon, as a first-time offender, Iskandah faces a jail term of up to five years and at least six strokes of the cane.
As a repeat offender, he faces a jail term of between two and eight years.
The police also said that he is still under investigations for wrongful confinement and drug-related offences.
The punishment for wrongful confinement is up to one year in jail, a fine not exceeding S$3,000 (RM9,101), or both.
The toddler, who was held hostage, has been placed in “safe care” temporarily, said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Social and Family Development previously.
The area’s Member of Parliament, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, said the boy is the youngest of four children and his mother is a widow.
The other three children are living with their grandmother in Woodlands.
The child’s mother has also been arrested for drug-related offences. — TODAY
