Indonesian Man Charged Over Stabbing in Singapore Bank District

Jakarta Globe - AFP, Nov 16, 2014

Police investigators work at the scene of a stabbing incident at Raffles Place, in
the central business district in Singapore on Nov. 14, 2014. (Reuters Photo/Edgar Su)

Singapore. An Indonesian man has been charged for stabbing a compatriot in Singapore’s banking district in a brazen attempt to rob him of more than $600,000 in public, the Straits Times reported on Sunday.

The incident on Friday stunned a lunchtime crowd at Raffles Place, where major bank offices as well as large-scale moneychangers are located. Singapore is regarded as one of the world’s safest cities and public acts of violence are rare.

Police declined to give AFP details about the 38-year-old suspect, saying only that he was charged Saturday with voluntarily causing hurt while committing a robbery, punishable by a jail term of at least five years and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

The Straits Times identified the suspect as Arun, and the man he attacked as Kang Tie Tie.

It said the victim, who was stabbed three times with a knife, was carrying Singapore and Brunei dollars as well as three cash checks worth more than $600,000 in a sling bag, which the suspect ran off with.

But the victim gave chase and the suspect was subdued with the help of bystanders before police arrived.

Singapore, Southeast Asia’s financial hub, is known for its tough stance on crime. It retains the death penalty as punishment for serious offenses while judicial caning can be imposed for some crimes including robbery.

Its overall crime rate fell to a 30-year-low in 2013, with 549 criminal cases per 100,000 people, according to official data.

Agence France-Presse