51-Year-Old Woman Jailed 10 Months After Threatening Cafe Customer with Knife at Novena Square

By
Siti Hajar
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A 51-year-old woman has been sentenced to 10 months in jail after pointing a knife at a cafe customer and demanding money from her at Novena Square.

Knife Incident at Han’s Cafe Leads to Criminal Intimidation Charge

Lam Hoe Lian, who has been in remand since the incident in August 2024, pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal intimidation on 27 Mar 2025.

The incident occurred on 29 Aug 2024 at Han’s Cafe & Cake House in Novena Square, where a 23-year-old woman was seated at a table after finishing her meal.

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At around 9.30am, while the victim was using her mobile phone, Lam approached her table and picked up the knife that had been used for the victim’s meal.

Lam pointed the 23cm knife at the victim’s face from approximately 30cm away and demanded S$200 in Mandarin, claiming she needed money.

The victim, startled by the confrontation, raised her hands but remained frozen in shock and did not move.

Other diners witnessed the incident, and the restaurant manager shouted at Lam to put down the knife. Lam complied, placing the knife on the table before walking away without taking anything.

Mental Health Factors and Court Sentencing

Lam was arrested on the same day and initially charged with attempted armed robbery before being remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for medical examination.

The court heard that Lam has an intellectual disability and was suffering from a relapse of schizophrenia at the time of the incident.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Tan sought 11 to 13 months’ jail for Lam after taking into account her psychiatric conditions.

According to Lam’s IMH report, she was aware that “she knew what she was doing” and that “she was doing something wrong at the time of picking up the knife.”

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However, the report noted that “her medical conditions may have contributed to poor frustration tolerance and poor judgment, as well as disorganised thought processes leading to the offence.”

In mitigation, Lam’s defence lawyer Chong Shou En from the Public Defender’s Office sought 10 months’ jail, arguing that the “interaction” of Lam’s intellectual disability and schizophrenia materially contributed to her offence.

Mr Chong also pointed out that Lam had no record of violent offences or any history of being physically violent, describing the incident as “an aberration in her behaviour.”

Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh considered that Lam was a first-time offender and said he was prepared to accept the defence’s proposed sentence as “fair and appropriate.”

The judge told Lam that a counsellor would assist her to prevent reoffending.

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Criminal intimidation carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both. If the threat is to cause death or grievous hurt, or to destroy property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or with a jail term of seven years or more, an offender may be jailed for up to 10 years, or fined, or both.

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Siti Hajar