THE attacker didn't say a word, but his actions said it all.

Charging and slashing wildly at his victim's face and chest with a kitchen knife, his fury shocked the teen and left him a bloody mess.

Desperate, the victim, a polytechnic student, tried to protect himself, but suffered further cuts to his arms.

It was only when he swung his arm and landed a punch in his assailant's eye that he managed to stop him.

'He fell down. After that, he got up and ran away. He had two female friends, and they also ran away,' said the first-year poly student, who asked not to be named.

The sudden attack took place in Simei on Sunday.

The 16-year-old Temasek polytechnic student was on his way to visit a friend at his flat when he was allegedly set upon by the armed youth.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the teenager said he was walking past a coffee shop in Block 248, opposite the Simei MRT station.

Suddenly, the attacker ran towards him and lunged at him, slashing him on his chest. The knife was 15 to 20cm long, he said.

The attacker slashed him on the neck and left cheek, without saying a thing.

After the attack, the teenager stumbled and ran to his friend's flat, about two blocks away, leaving a trail of blood.

He made it to the staircase landing of the block and called his friend using his handphone.

CALLED POLICE

His friend told The New Paper: 'I called the police when I saw him. He was bleeding badly so I used my shirt to try and stop the bleeding, but he was still able to talk to me.'

The teenager was taken in an ambulance to the nearby Changi General Hospital, where he underwent surgery to stitch up his wounds.

Yesterday, his hands, neck and chest were heavily bandaged, and there was a long row of stitches on his left cheek.

He was still weak, and appeared to drift in and out of consciousness.

The teenager claimed he did not know the attacker but recognised him as a youth whom he had often seen hanging around the Simei area.

He said the police interviewed him yesterday, and showed him a photo of a youth.

'It was the same guy,' he claimed.

The attacker had a shaven head and a small build, he said.

The teen said he goes to his friend's home about five times a week to play games or just to hang out as he lives nearby.

His 50-year-old father said he rushed to the hospital after his wife informed him about the incident.

He added: 'I expected the worst. We're just thankful that he was not stabbed, and that none of his vital organs were affected.

'I cannot understand how this happened.'

The teenager has two older siblings, who are undergraduates.

He said there were many people around during the attack, but they just stood there and looked on.

The teen said he lost one of his slippers. The attacker also left one of his slippers and a pair of shorts behind.

The teenager sustained the most serious injury to his right arm.

'The doctor said that one of his nerves in his right arm could be affected, and that there is a chance that it could affect the use of his fingers,' his father said.

A police spokesman confirmed that they received a call about a fight at 6pm on Sunday.

They found the teenager with multiple slash injuries, and sent him to the hospital.

The spokesman said investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information should call the police hotline at 1800 255 0000.

This story was first published in The New Paper on 12 August 2008.