Deja vu? Suspects hole up with mum in 5-hour standoff as CNB, police call in backup

A standoff between two men and officers of the Singapore Police Force and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) lasted for some five hours on Tuesday morning in Ang Mo Kio. This was the second time there had been such an incident at Block 508 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8.

Several residents of Block 508 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 may have felt a sense of “here we go again,” as the flat involved in the standoff was the site of another incident in 2016, involving a man holed up there with his elderly mother. That one lasted some 13 hours.

In the March 22 incident, two men, aged 52 and 53, had locked themselves in the same eighth-storey unit with their 77-year-old mum. They refused to open the door to CNB officers during an enforcement operation and the CNB apparently called for backup.

The police said they received a call for help at the HDB block just before 7 am. They assessed that the men could pose a danger to themselves and to their mother, and sent in officers from the Special Operations Command, the Crisis Negotiation Unit, and Singapore Civil Defence Force to the scene.

After a five-hour standoff, SOC officers managed to force their way into the flat, and the two men were arrested at 11:55 am for alleged criminal intimidation and suspected drug offences. The police and CNB are investigating.

TODAY quotes CNB as saying, ”Both men have been arrested for suspected drug-related offences, including drug consumption, drug possession, possession of drug-taking utensils and failing to report for urine tests. Investigations into the drug activities of both men are ongoing.”

MP Nadia Samdin (Ang Mo Kio) thanked the officers from the agencies involved in the arrest and praised their “prompt updates and calm handling of the situation this morning”.

She added, “My team and I were on the ground to check in, and we are working with local community stakeholders and organisations to try and assist the family through this difficult situation. I am grateful for the concern shown by residents and Singaporeans alike. Police and the CNB are investigating the case.”

/TISG

3-hour standoff ends as police enter woman’s house during drug bust