Live FB Video Shows SPF & SCDF Officers Swarming an HDB Block in Yishun

If you see a group of police officers and firefighters swarming a residential area, you’d probably assume that something big had just gone down.

Was it an act of terror? Was someone kidnapped? Is someone threatening to burn down an entire block of flats?

Nope. A man threw a couple of glass bottles out a window.

Live FB Video Shows SPF & SCDF Swarming a HDB Block in Yishun

On Tuesday evening (20 Oct), a Facebook ‘live’ video showed personnel from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) flooding an HDB block in Yishun.

The police had cordoned off the area and the SCDF had deployed airbags, though netizens had no idea why they were there in the first place.

The livestream was reportedly recorded by a nearby resident, who managed to capture the incident at Block 703, Yishun Ave 5.

It lasted only minutes, but fortunately, an Instagram user documented the rest of the encounter, and tried to explain what had happened.

The user claims that at 6pm that day, she heard the sound of two glass bottles being thrown out a window.

The woman called the Town Council, who then notified the police.

The police arrived on the scene after 7pm, and reportedly cordoned off the area. The SCDF also arrived soon after and deployed their inflatable airbags.

And things just became more and more intense from there.

Firstly, there were at least five different SCDF vehicles at the scene, including one from SCDF’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART).

For those who don’t know, DART specialises in complex incidents such as technical rescue and prolonged firefighting, so when you see one of their vehicles, you know something’s wrong.

According to MS News, officers from SPF’s Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) team were also seen crowding outside a unit on the 6th floor of the block, with SCDF personnel waiting in the units above and below.

By now, you’d probably have concluded that the source of this hullaballoo must come from inside that unit on the 6th floor.

And you’d be right.

Rescuers from the DART team abseiled down the block and entered the unit from the outside.

Then, after all the confusion and anxiety, a man in cuffs was seen being escorted into a police vehicle.

Ok, so what the heck happened?

SPF Explains

SPF has since released a statement explaining what had occurred.

The police say they were alerted to a case of suspected rash act at Blk 703 Yishun Avenue 5 on 20 Oct at 5.59pm, where a man was allegedly throwing glass bottles from a unit of the said block.

A 32-year-old woman, unknown to the man, sustained a cut on her leg from one of the thrown bottles and was attended to by a paramedic at the scene.

The Police established the residential unit of the man, but he was not exactly cooperative.

He locked himself in the unit and refused to heed officers’ repeated calls to open the door. He also threatened to hurt himself.

This explains the airbags. 

In order to ensure that the man was safe, officers from the Special Operations Command effected forced entry into the unit and apprehended the 45-year-old man under Section 7 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act and Rash Act Causing Hurt.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Sadly, cases like this have been on the rise ever since the coronavirus emerged. We don’t know what exactly happened, but it’s safe to say that this man was not in a healthy frame of mind.

Fortunately, no other injuries were reported. Hopefully this man gets the help he needs.