Man arrested after 5-hour standoff with police for hurling liquor bottles from Woodlands HDB flat

A 23-year-old man has been arrested following a five-hour standoff with police for throwing bottles of liquor from his home in Woodlands.

The incident occurred at an HDB unit located at 687A Woodlands Drive 75 on Wednesday (May 20) evening.

@asiaone A 23-year-old man was arrested by the police after a nearly 5-hour standoff after he threw several bottles of liquor out of a second floor flat at Block 687 Woodlands Drive 75 on Wednesday (May 20) evening. #sgnews #Singapore #HDB #police ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

Videos from an eyewitness show a man standing at the window of his second floor unit with what appears to be wine bottles in his hand.

In the footage, he is seen throwing them to the ground from the window, one at a time.

A second video also shows him throwing bottles towards the wall next to his window, causing them to shatter and wine to spill over the ledge.

The floor of the void deck below his unit also appeared to be covered with wine and shards of glass.

Police officers cordoned off the area below the unit with police tape, and were seen directing passers-by away from the affected area.

Five police cars, two special operations command tactical vehicles, one fire engine, one ambulance and a Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) rescue vehicle were spotted within the vicinity.

A resident at the scene told AsiaOne that the man involved in the incident has been living in the unit for around five years.

Another resident, who lives on the fourth floor, told AsiaOne that the man lives with his parents and that he had allegedly been quarrelling with his mother the day before.

AsiaOne understands that the man's father called for police assistance earlier.

The man was eventually arrested by police officers and taken by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics to Woodlands Hospital.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, SCDF confirmed the deployment of a safety life pack, adding that rescuers from Dart were on standby as a precautionary measure.

Arrested for rash act

The police told AsiaOne that they received a call for assistance at Block 687A Woodlands Drive 75 at about 6pm on May 20. 

When police officers arrived, they found that a 23-year-old man had locked himself in his residential unit.

As the man was assessed to pose a possible danger to himself, officers from the Special Operations Command, Crisis Negotiation Unit and SCDF were deployed to the scene.

Police officers subsequently managed to gain entry into the unit at about 10.20pm and the man was arrested for rash act. 

He was later taken conscious to the hospital. Investigations are ongoing, said police.

Additional reporting by Eriko Lim and Rauf Khan

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dana.leong@asiaone.com