SINGAPORE - Enraged after his father refused to hand over $2,000, a student attacked him with a knife, causing multiple stab wounds.

Dylan Loy Zhong Huan, 19, pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday (Feb 27) to causing grievous hurt to Mr Loy Shiang Chian with the weapon.

The court heard that the teenager had been living with his grandfather since Nov 18, 2016.

Court documents did not state the reasons for this arrangement.

Prior to that, Dylan Loy had been asking his father for money, claiming that he needed $3,000 to pay for Uber rides as part of a "survey".

Mr Loy, 49, then transferred $1,000 to his son's bank account.

After spending the money, Dylan Loy asked his father for the remaining $2,000 but Mr Loy refused to give him any more cash.

On Nov 29, 2016, the teenager asked his grandparents for the money at around 6am but they also rejected his request.

He then armed himself with a steak knife that had an 8cm-long blade and went to his father's flat in Bishan.

Mr Loy was leaving his home at around 8.30am that day when he spotted his son hiding beside a shoe cabinet.

Dylan Loy confronted his father and demanded to know why the older man did not give him the money.

He pushed Mr Loy, who had warned his son not to touch him.

The teenager then got hold of his father's key pouch and flung it towards a drain along the corridor.

As Mr Loy tried to retrieve it, his son took out the knife and stabbed the back of the older man's head two or three times.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Lu said: "The victim screamed for help and tried to stop the accused from using his key to enter the unit.

"However, the accused continued to stab and slash the victim... and he also punched and kicked the victim multiple times."

Mr Loy's neighbour, who heard the commotion and saw the scuffle, alerted the police.

An ambulance took Mr Loy to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was found to have multiple stab wounds.

He was discharged two days later and given hospitalisation leave until Dec 18, 2016.

On Wednesday, District Judge May Mesenas called for reports to assess Dylan Loy's suitability for probation and reformative training.

Offenders sentenced to reformative training will be sent to a reformative training centre to follow a strict regimen that includes foot drills and counselling.

The teenager is now out on bail of $10,000 and will be back in court on Thursday.

For causing grievous hurt with a weapon, offenders can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined or caned.