Jail for man found armed with chopper after he threatened to 'kill everyone'
A man who told his case manager at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) on Jan 13 that he wanted to "kill everyone" was found armed with a chopper at a public park later that day.
Mustaqim Zakaria, 22, was on Tuesday (March 15) sentenced to 21 weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment and being in possession of the chopper.
The Singaporean's case was just one of several heard in court this week that involved dangerous weapons.
On Wednesday alone, The Straits Times reported about three men who were charged after they allegedly hurt others with weapons in unrelated incidents.
One of them, Fadhil Yusop, 37, was handed one charge of voluntarily causing hurt with a samurai sword.
Fadhil, who was caught on video swinging the weapon at pedestrians and several cars near Buangkok Square mall, is accused of committing the offence on Monday.
Another man, Mohd S. Muhibullah Said Abdullah, 33, now faces two charges of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.
He is accused of injuring two people with a razor blade at Block 59 Strathmore Avenue in Queenstown on Monday.
The third man, Leonard Goh Yew Cheng, 27, was handed one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty and two counts of possessing offensive weapons.
He allegedly threw a knife at a policeman in Bukit Batok on Monday, causing a bruise to form on the officer's cheek after its handle hit his face.
Separately, Ong Tai Weng, 47, appeared in a district court last week and was handed five charges for offences, including being in possession of different weapons in a Yishun flat last December.
They included a nunchaku, which usually comprises two segments of wood or metal joined by a chain.
The cases involving Ong, Goh, Muhibullah and Fadhil are still pending.
As for Mustaqim, the court heard that he had phoned his case manager at IMH at around 5pm on Jan 13.
Court documents did not disclose why he had a case manager there.
He then told the 26-year-old woman in Malay: "I want to kill people... I want to kill everyone."
Alarmed, she lodged a police report at around 5.20pm.
Officers then conducted an extensive islandwide search for Mustaqim and found him in Woodlands Waterfront Park at around 8.45pm that day.
Officers also found a chopper in his possession.
Investigations revealed that after making the phone call, Mustaqim went to a supermarket and bought the weapon for $8.90.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Sum said: "The accused then removed the chopper from its packaging and concealed (the weapon inside a) plastic bag before boarding a public bus to Woodlands Waterfront Park, which is a public place.
"Investigations additionally revealed that the accused had purchased the said chopper as he wanted to kill his father because he was angry with the latter for disowning him."
Mustaqim did not have any lawful authority or purpose for arming himself with the chopper, the court heard.
For possessing a weapon, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined.
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