[top - Mr Sahrin, who claimed that man (on monitor screen) attacked him and his girlfriend with a 12cm-long knife.]

By Lediati Tan

A WEEKEND family gathering turned ugly when a man allegedly charged at one family member with a kitchen knife.

The target, photographer Sahrin Sabudin, 38, escaped unscathed, but was shaken by the incident which happened on 7 Feb at Costa Sands Resort, Downtown East.

Mr Sahrin said he was having a family barbecue at the resort when he noticed a group of about 10 young people in their late teens to early 20s occupying the barbecue pit next to them.

'They were playing cards. They were noisy and shouting vulgarities,' claimed Mr Sahrin.

At 11pm, he said that he complained to one of the teenagers in the group about the noise level and the swearing.

Mr Sahrin insisted that he spoke to the teenager politely, and claimed that they even shook hands after the exchange.

He assumed the matter had been settled amicably as the group stayed quiet after that.

But less than 10 minutes later, Mr Sahrin said that an older man from the group allegedly confronted him.

Mr Sahrin's uncle, Mr Mahadi Timan, 49, who works as a broker, told The New Paper: 'I was manning the barbecue pit when I heard a guy shouting.'

Mr Mahadi then walked over to see what the commotion was about.

Said Mr Sahrin: 'The guy shouted at me and asked me why I scolded the boy. He was very aggressive.'

Both Mr Sahrin and his uncle claimed that the man shouted expletives at them.

Mr Sahrin said he asked the teenager he spoke to earlier whether he had scolded him, to which the teenager replied no.

Despite this, Mr Sahrin alleged that the man continued with the verbal abuse.

Mr Sahrin then retorted loudly: 'What do you want?'

The man kept quiet and walked back to his barbecue pit, said Mr Sahrin, and he thought that was the end of the episode.

'Then the guy charged towards me with a 12cm-long kitchen knife,' claimed Mr Sahrin.

'I thought he was holding a pair of tongs initially. When I saw that it was a knife, I pulled my girlfriend, who was standing in front of me, away.

Attack

'He was cursing as he came charging with the knife as he was only about three to four steps away. If I hadn't pulled her away, she may have been stabbed.'

Mr Mahadi alleged: 'I saw him charging at my nephew and I asked my son-in-law to grab the guy.'

Mr Sahrin then left to seek help from the resort's staff.

During that time, a female friend of the alleged attacker removed the knife from him, claimed Mr Mahadi, and the group returned quietly to their barbecue pit.

Mr Mahadi then called the police.

Mr Sahrin said he informed the duty manager about what happened that night but claimed that even though two security guards were alerted, they did not go to the barbecue pit to investigate further.

They merely waited with him in the management office until the police came.

After the incident, the resort's management offered to change their room, but Mr Sahrin felt this was not enough.

He said that he had expected the resort's management to evict the teenagers, but the management declined to do so.

He also claimed that the police were unable to find the knife used to attack him as the group of teenagers had hidden the knife before the police arrived.

But he showed The New Paper a photo taken that evening which he said proved that the group did possess a knife.

When contacted, a spokesman from the resort said that they could not comment as the police are investigating the incident.

The spokesman added: 'Occasionally, disputes do occur but we do our best to assist, so that any misunderstandings can be resolved amicably and the parties involved can continue to enjoy their stay.

'Our resorts are safe for friends and families to gather and have a great time. To enhance safety, we have CCTVs installed and security officers on duty 24 hours a day.'

In response to The New Paper's queries, a police spokesman confirmed that they had received a call on 7 Feb at 11.40pm informing them of a dispute at the resort.

'A man in his early 20s was subsequently arrested for criminal intimidation,' the spokesman said, adding that investigations are ongoing.