Man in Sembawang hostage drama charged for having a knuckle duster
The suspect, Muhammad Iskandah Suhaimi, being taken away in a police car after the Sembawang hostage drama was over. (Photo: Safhras Khan/Yahoo)
The man who held a two-year-old boy hostage for 17 hours in a flat earlier this week was charged on Friday (30 September) for having a knuckle duster.
Muhammad Iskandah Suhaimi, 39, locked himself and his girlfriend’s son in the fifth-floor unit at Blk 462 Sembawang Drive on Tuesday evening. He was arrested after police officers from the Special Operations Command stormed the flat around noon on Wednesday.
Police are still investigating him for wrongful confinement and drug-related offences.
The boy was unharmed and is in the custody of the Ministry of Social and Family Development. His mother has been arrested for drug-related offences.
Muhammad Iskandah will be remanded for two weeks for psychiatric evaluation, according to media reports. He is expected to appear in court again on 14 October.
It is an offence to possess a knuckle duster without lawful authority under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act.
If convicted as a first-time offender, Muhammad Iskandah may be jailed for up to five years and given at least six strokes of the cane. The penalty for a repeat offence is a jail term of between two and eight years, and at least six strokes of the cane.
