MR MOHAMAD Redzwan was waiting in the lift lobby of his Upper Boon Keng Road HDB block last Saturday, when he felt a searing pain on the back of his head.

In a second, the 24-year-old found himself crouching on the ground and shielding his face with his arms as a group of hooligans began pummelling him with something sharp.

The beating left him with six deep cuts, including a gash on his face and neck that took 35 stitches to close, a partially severed tendon in his left hand and lacerations on his head.

After spending three days in hospital, Mr Redzwan still does not know what, or who, hit him.

Speaking to The Straits Times in his flat on Tuesday, he and his family were still puzzled and angry about the attack.

'When they attacked me, I asked them 'What did I do wrong?',' he said. But the assailants never replied, only uttering 'take this' in Malay, recalled Mr Redzwan.

Mr Redzwan, a former cleaner, said he was unable to fathom what sparked such a random, violent attack.

Along with the stitches to his face and neck, doctors inserted an iron pallet into Mr Redzwan's left hand to support his tendon.

Mr Redzwan said he was unable to see his attackers and could not tell for sure how many there were or what they used to hit him.

They did not rob him, despite the fact that he was carrying a mobile phone, a hand- held game console and his wallet.

Mr Redzwan's younger sister, Miss Norrashikin Mohamad, 22, said the family feared the attack was a well-planned ambush.

She said: 'From the way my brother was attacked, it seemed like someone was holding a grudge against him...I wonder if the attackers actually got the right person as this could be a case of mistaken identity.'

Mr Redzwan's father, Mr Mohamad Warji, 47, said he hoped a security camera would be set up in the lobby where his son was ambushed. There are no security cameras in the area now.

The police said that the incident is still under investigation.