Woman dies in Yishun knife attack after alleged dispute with neighbour; man arrested for murder

A woman has died following a stabbing incident in Yishun Central on Wednesday (Sept 24) morning. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said a 66-year-old man has been arrested for murder.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force told AsiaOne it received a call for assistance at Block 323 Yishun Central at about 7.25am, and three people were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Police stated that officers responding to the incident saw one woman and two men lying injured at the sixth floor corridor when they arrived.

Investigations revealed that a fight had started from a noise dispute, during which a 66-year-old Chinese man allegedly used a knife to injure a couple, aged 30 and 33.

The 30-year-old Vietnamese woman was conveyed unconscious to the hospital where she subsequently died. The two Chinese men, aged 33 and 66, were conscious when sent to the hospital.

AsiaOne understands that the accused will be charged in court on Sept 25.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A resident who wished to be known as Koh told the Straits Times that there had been a neighbour dispute between a man and a couple. 

He described hearing screams, and later seeing a bloodied woman lying near the lift landing on the sixth floor. 

The 69-year-old reportedly said: "Her husband was trying to fight off a man who was holding a knife. At the same time, the husband was yelling, 'Anyone knows CPR? Please help my wife!'

"Then I saw the husband get stabbed at his chest area."

AsiaOne spotted about six police cars at Block 323 at 10.30am. Spots of blood were seen at the ground floor lift lobby and white sheets had been put up along the corridor.

Speaking to AsiaOne, another neighbour, Koh Yong Poo, recounted hearing a loud commotion at about 7.40am. He revealed that the alleged attacker, a retiree in his mid-60s, lives on the fifth floor and the victims, a married couple with two children, live on the sixth.

The 67-year-old, who has been living on the seventh floor of the block for 36 years, said the two parties had been locked in a dispute over noises from the victims' unit.

"The man (attacker) is a sensitive person, he said he couldn't sleep because of the noise. He goes to bed at 8pm, so the other party seems to have caused some disturbance to him," Yong Poo told AsiaOne.

"Because the children kept jumping and disturbed him, he would take a hammer and knock on his ceiling."

He added that the alleged attacker once distributed a note to other residents in the block about the purported noise disturbance from the victims' kids and had lodged a complaint with the authorities about it.

Alleged attacker described as friendly

A resident living a few units away from the deceased expressed shock at the incident.

"It's usually peaceful, and I never expected something like this to occur," said the 54-year-old woman, who wanted to be known as Lin.

Lin told AsiaOne that she was not at home at the time of the incident and only knew about it from a neighbour.

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, described the alleged attacker as friendly, and said he would greet her whenever they crossed paths. He also often came down early in the morning to collect fruits from the ground, she said.

In a Facebook post at noon on Wednesday, Nee Soon GRC MP Jackson Lam said he is saddened by the "tragic and shocking incident".

"Our grassroots leaders and staff will support and assist residents who may be affected," he added.

Concerns about noise

During a Meet-the-People session in July, a woman, believed to be the suspect's wife, had raised concerns about noise from the unit on the fifth floor, Jackson Lam, MP for Nee Soon GRC, said.

He said that an appeal had been submitted to HDB and that it had replied saying that a mediation had been arranged, but the noise still persisted. 

The case was then escalated to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals, he said, adding that no complaints were filed with the town council. 

Lam said he met with the victim's sister and offered assistance. 

The victim's two children have been sent for assessment, and once it is complete, necessary arrangements would be made for them, he said, without going into details.

AsiaOne has reached out to HDB for comments. 

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