Beach Road slasher is separated from victim; couple have two children
The man who allegedly slashed his wife repeatedly outside a restaurant in Beach Road is separated from her, those who know the couple said.
They added that the man, 46, and his 41-year-old wife have two children - a boy and a girl.
The family is from China, said staff of restaurants in the area.
Mr Wei Chen Xiang, a worker from Zhong Hua Steamboat, said the victim has been working at Chong Qing (Origin) Steamboat for about a year and described her as friendly.
Both eateries are in Beach Road.
"She always said hello with a smile when we ran into each other and seemed to be a good-natured person," said Mr Wei, 32.
Mr Leonard Shi, owner of Samurai BBQ, which is located in Liang Seah Street, said the woman is from Henan, a province in central China.
"I heard she intended to go back to China some time ago, but stayed on to help her boss with the hotpot restaurant here," he said.
Chong Qing (Origin) Steamboat had its shutters down when The Straits Times visited on Friday afternoon (April 15).
When contacted, one of their staff members said they were assisting with police investigations and declined to comment further.
Most of the restaurants in the area were open on Friday, with a steady flow of patrons returning to the area after the horrific attack on Thursday afternoon.
Videos of the incident show a woman with multiple wounds on the ground outside Zhong Hua Steamboat as a man confronts her with a chopper.
Restaurant workers had to intervene in the incident by throwing plastic chairs and metal signposts to stop him.
Mr Wei and Mr Shi were among the people who confronted the alleged assailant.
A number of workers chased him into an alley behind the row of eateries before he was tasered inside the restaurant where his wife works.
On Friday, curious passers-by were spotted peeking into the alley where the man was confronted, and inspecting the ground where the victim laid bleeding.
A woman who wanted to be known only as Ms Lam, 26, said: "I was shocked when I read the news on Thursday.
"Since I have plans to meet friends here for lunch today, I thought I'd take a look around."
Another diner, Ming Li, 33, who was having lunch with a friend in a restaurant along Liang Seah Street, said: "We don't dare to dine too near the incident site after seeing video clips of the attack. It was very violent.
"But the man has been arrested, so we decided to stick to our plans to dine in the area."
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