A 58-year-old unemployed man hid under a tenant’s bed in Geylang, then pulled a penknife and a pair of scissors on him when he was caught.
Vincent Tony pleaded guilty on 26 August 2026 to one charge of criminal intimidation and two drug charges. He was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months and 3 weeks’ jail.
Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Zaobao reported the case. Mothership carried it in English on 27 August.
Door Half Open, Table In The Way
At about 7pm on 8 January 2026, Tony entered an unlocked apartment at Lorong 16 Geylang and went into the bedroom of a 27-year-old Vietnamese tenant.
About 20 minutes later, the tenant came home from work. The bedroom door was half closed and blocked by a table. Through the gap he saw the room in a mess, went in, and started taking photos to send to his roommate.
Then he saw Tony lying under the bed.
He left the room and called a colleague. By the time the colleague arrived, Tony had come out and was trying to leave. The tenant shut the front door to stop him.
Penknife, Then Scissors
Tony took a penknife from his sling bag, swung it at the tenant, and threatened to hurt him if the door was not opened.
The colleague arrived and took the penknife away.
Tony then pulled out a pair of scissors, held them with both hands, and pointed them at the tenant again.
The tenant and his colleague disarmed him and held him until the police came.
Shin Min later quoted the tenant, Mr Nguyen, 28, a construction worker, saying he was terrified. Items in the room had been rummaged through, including bottles and cans. Tony had also gone to the window as if to jump, then stopped when he saw they were on the third floor.
Ice And A Homemade Pipe
Police found a packet of crystalline substance on Tony. HSA testing showed it weighed about 4.41g and contained at least 2.97g of methamphetamine. He said it was for his own use.
They also found a homemade green water pipe and a piece of aluminium foil, which he admitted were for smoking ice.
More than six months later, the tenant told Shin Min he still remembers that night, and that he now locks the bedroom door.
If you walk into someone else’s unlocked flat and slide under the bed, you are not hiding. You are waiting to be found.
