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Two-year-old boy rescued after 17-hour standoff at Sembawang Drive flat

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(The suspect being led to a police car. Safhras Khan/Yahoo Singapore)

A 39-year-old man has been arrested after a 17-hour standoff with the police.

Police broke into a flat at 462 Sembawang Drive at about 12pm. The man locked himself and a two-year-old boy inside the unit since Tuesday night.

The boy was rescued unharmed, and he is safe with the police. The man was arrested for wrongful confinement and drug-related offences. Yahoo Singapore understands that the boy’s mother has also been arrested for drug-related offences. Police investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore police force said preliminary investigations revealed that the man 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 were on the scene.


Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Lim Wee Kiak was on the scene on Wednesday morning. He told members of the media earlier in the morning, “We’ve been watching the situation closely. Police been here since last evening. Currently our concern is with the two individuals and the child. From what we understand it’s a family dispute. Police said the house is self-sufficient with enough food and water.” The boy is the youngest of four siblings.

Members of the public watching the scene unfold had been advised to stay outside the police cordon while the negotiations took place.

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