Man threw away wife’s suitcase and locked himself inside their flat after an argument; police broke down door to arrest him

SINGAPORE: A man made threatening remarks and allegedly threw away his wife’s suitcase after an argument, which made her run upstairs to get help from their neighbours. When the police were alerted, the man locked himself inside their home with his father-in-law, causing a disturbance for nearly three hours. Police broke down the door to arrest him. 

Shin Min Daily News got a report that several police cars and civil defence vehicles were present outside an HDB block in the Tampines area, and that there was a tense atmosphere as the police broke into the apartment to arrest the man. Investigations revealed that there had been a domestic dispute in the HDB flat.

The wife declared that her husband became irritable and frequently lost control for no reason five years ago. They had been married for 17 years and had two children: a 16-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. 

She said that her husband even dragged her suitcase containing clothes and personal belongings downstairs before the incident and threw it away. “He kept provoking me to fight and even threatened to kill me. I was really scared!” she said.

In her panic, she immediately took her daughter to her neighbour, who called the police. When the police arrived, the husband locked himself inside and trapped their maid and his disabled father-in-law.

The police determined that the suspect might harm himself or others, so they called for backup. The authorities tried to persuade him to open the door, but when it failed, they cut the lock and entered the apartment to arrest the man.

In Singapore, victims of family violence can get a Personal Protection Order (PPO). This is an order to restrain the culprit from further violence against the victims.

Family members who can get this order include the person’s :

• spouse or former spouse.
• child, including an adopted child and a stepchild,
• father or mother,
• father-in-law or mother-in-law, sibling
• any other relative
• an incapacitated person who may be regarded as a family member by the court.