A 58-year-old unemployed Singaporean man who hid under a tenant’s bed in Geylang and later threatened him with a penknife and scissors has been sentenced to two years, six months and three weeks’ jail.
Vincent Tony pleaded guilty on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, to one charge of criminal intimidation and two drug-related charges.
The incident happened on 8 January at an apartment along Lorong 16 Geylang.
Tenant Came Home To Find His Room In A Mess
According to court documents reported by Mothership and Shin Min Daily News, Tony entered the unlocked apartment sometime before 7.20pm.
He went into the bedroom of a 27-year-old Vietnamese tenant.
When the tenant returned home from work at around 7.20pm, he noticed that his bedroom door was partly open and blocked by a table.
Looking through the gap, he saw that the room was in a mess.
He entered and began taking photographs, intending to send them to his roommate to check whether the roommate had been responsible for the state of the room.
That was when he discovered Tony hiding underneath his bed.
The tenant immediately left the bedroom and contacted a colleague for help.
Tony Pulled Out A Penknife, Then Scissors
By the time the colleague arrived, Tony had emerged from the bedroom and was trying to leave the apartment.
The tenant closed the main door to stop him.
Tony then took a penknife from his sling bag, swung it at the tenant and threatened to hurt him in an attempt to get him to open the door.
The colleague managed to take the penknife away.
But the situation did not end there.
Tony took out a pair of scissors, held them towards the tenant and again threatened to hurt him.
The tenant and his colleague eventually managed to disarm and restrain Tony until the police arrived.
Police Found Methamphetamine And Diamorphine
According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, officers subsequently found controlled drugs on Tony.
One packet contained at least 4.41g of crystalline material, which was analysed and found to contain at least 2.97g of methamphetamine.
Two other packets containing at least 8.14g of granular or powdery material were found to contain at least 0.18g of diamorphine.
Shin Min reported that Tony admitted that the drugs were meant for his own consumption.
Police also found a piece of aluminium foil and an improvised green water pipe with him. Tony admitted that the items were used to consume methamphetamine.
Tenant Says He Is Still Shaken By What Happened
When Shin Min reporters visited the apartment on the night of 26 August, the tenant, identified as Mr Nguyen, was then 28 and working as a construction worker.
More than six months after the incident, he said he could still remember what happened clearly.
He told Shin Min that the occupants’ belongings had been rummaged through and that Tony had handled bottles and cans of alcohol in the room.
Mr Nguyen also said Tony had at one point gone towards a window as though looking for another way out, but did not proceed after apparently realising the unit was on the third floor.
According to Shin Min, Mr Nguyen had worked in Singapore for five years and had previously felt safe enough that he did not make a habit of locking the door.
Neither he nor his roommate lost any belongings in the incident, but he said they would keep their door locked from then on.
