MRT 'samurai' a swordsmanship coach?

Police confirmed with MyPaper last night that the mysterious "samurai" arrested on Monday is a man called Peter Chua.

Chua caused a stir when he boarded an MRT train wielding a samurai sword. He was arrested eventually near Jalan Pisang.

Yesterday, Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported that Chua is a 39-year-old swordsmanship instructor and tattoo artist.

A MyPaper search on Facebook found a user named Peter Chua, whose page was filled with posts identifying him as the "samurai".

The page features numerous pictures of the user who shares a similar build, tattoos, and long curly hair with blonde streaks as the man arrested by the police.

The Facebook user stated that he is the head instructor of Japanese swordsmanship at the Iaido Club, and a professional tattoo artist.

Several pictures also showed him playing guitar at rock concerts.

One of his friends posted a picture of the "samurai" on the Facebook page and said: "That's my good old buddy Peter Chua! Mai kan cheong (dialect term for 'don't worry')!"

He said Chua was probably heading to his school near Lavender MRT station at the time of the incident.

"He is pretty stout and...resembles a warrior type...so it's really no big deal...not unless...some human were threatened, or Peter behaved strangely...I trust he is fine and normal, just being him."

The suspect is being probed under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act. If charged and convicted, he could face a jail term of up to five years and at least six strokes of the cane.

myp@sph.com.sg

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