2-yr-old boy rescued after officers broke into the unit following 17 hours standoff

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced that the boy had finally been rescued at 12.03 pm on 28 September after more than 17 hours of a standoff.

Fortunately, the boy was unharmed throughout the entire operation.

Officers from the Special Operations Command broke into the unit and arrested the man. Police investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Police Force wrote on its Facebook page that it received a call on Tuesday (27 September) at about 6.44 pm saying that a 39-year-old man had locked himself and a 2-year-old at a unit at Blk 462 Sembawang Dr.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man was locked himself in the house with the boy following a dispute with the boy’s family members.

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Division, Crisis Negotiation Unit and Special Operations Command are managing the incident. However, the man refused to open the door to Police. 

The Police advised members of the public to stay outside the police cordon set up and comply with instructions of police officers at scene.

The Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, was at the scene on Wednesday morning. He told the media that the boy’s mother is a widow and the man is her friend. The boy is the youngest of four children. He also said that the other three children are living with their grandmother in Woodlands.

He said, “We are watching the situation very closely and the police have been working very hard to negotiate with the individual involved. Our concern is for the safety of both the individual and the child.”

The man was arrested for Wrongful Confinement and drug-related offences.