AFP News – Fri, Nov 14, 2014RELATED CONTENT
- A police investigator (left) collects evidence from the crime scene following a stabbing …
A man was stabbed Friday in a rare armed robbery in Singapore's banking district, shocking a lunchtime crowd in one of the world's safest cities.
National broadcaster Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the attacker stabbed the unsuspecting victim before dashing off with his sling bag outside a metro station.
Despite his injuries, the victim gave chase and got into a scuffle with the attacker, CNA said on its website, quoting an eyewitness.
Police said both men had been brought to Singapore General Hospital after the incident near Raffles Place.
"Upon police's arrival, it was established that a case of armed robbery with hurt had occurred at the said location," the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.
"One of the conveyed male subjects was subsequently arrested in relation to the case. Police investigations are ongoing."
Photographs of expatriates and Singaporeans attending to the bleeding victim were widely circulated on social media.
The attacker was subdued by bystanders before police arrived to arrest him. An eyewitness told CNA the victim was bleeding from his ears, shoulders and abdomen.
Both men appeared to be ethnic Chinese, like the majority of Singaporeans, although a police spokeswoman declined to comment on the age or ethnicity of the men.
Many Singapore residents took to social media to express their shock at the incident.
"Stabbing at #rafflesplace, and my friend pulled them apart... Not in #Singapore, surely?!" wrote Harriet Jenkins on Twitter.
Singapore, a leading Asian financial hub, is known for its tough stance on crime. It retains the death penalty as punishment for serious offences while judicial caning can be imposed for some crimes including robbery and rape.
Its overall crime rate fell to a 30-year-low in 2013, with 549 criminal cases per 100,000 people, according to official data.
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