A couple was attacked outside their flat in Tampines on
Monday. (Yahoo! file photo)
A couple was attacked at their doorstep as they were returning
home to their flat in
Tampines on Monday
night.
39-year-old Li Wencheng and his wife Yuanxiu, 42, both fish soup
sellers at the food court in
Tampines One, were about
to unlock their gate when Mr Li saw an angry man charging toward
them from a staircase near their flat on the 13th floor of Block
716, Tampines Street 72.
"Before I could react, he slashed me in the head and blood
gushed out," a still-shaken Li told Today from his
hospital bed. He had sustained injuries to his head, face and left
arm.
His wife tried to block the attacker from knifing her husband
again but was herself slashed in the back.
"He continued to try to slash us, but all this time he did not
say a word," she added.
The couple screamed for help and two neighbours eventually came
forward to help subdue the unknown attacker, who had lost control
of the knife and fell into a row of potted plants along the
corridor. He is believed to be living in the same block.
Police said that they later arrested the man, a 25-year-old who
is believed to be suffering from mental problems, for "voluntarily
causing hurt with a dangerous weapon".
Eyewitnesses said his mother rushed to the scene shortly after
in a panic, asking him why he attacked the couple.
All three were sent to
Changi General Hospital to
be treated. Although the attacker had not sustained any visible
injuries, neighbours who witnessed the attack said he appeared to
be breathless.
The Lis, who are Singapore permanent residents, but were
originally from
Guilin in China, have
stayed in their rented room in Tampines for over a year. They have
two daughters aged 17 and 9 who are living and studying in
China.
Even though the attacker had been arrested, Li told
Today of his plan to move out of the flat as soon as
possible, and that they were not taking any chances.
"We've told everyone back in China how good and safe Singapore
is -- how do we explain to them now about what has happened to us?"
he said.
