Members of the public (left) seen assisting a mall security officer in detaining the male teenager (right) who was seen wandering about Bedok Mall with a pair of scissors on Thursday (17 May) afternoon. (Photos courtesy of Andrea Heng)

*This story was updated at 12.30am on 18 May 2018 to reflect the Singapore Police Force’s response to queries from Yahoo News Singapore

A male teenager was arrested at Bedok Mall on Thursday (17 May) afternoon after he was spotted wandering about the mall while carrying a pair of kitchen scissors.

In a statement given to Yahoo News Singapore, the police said that they were alerted to an incident at Bedok Mall involving an 18-year-old male who had been seen “holding on to a pair of scissors and causing trouble in the mall”.

The teenager was subsequently detained by the mall’s security guards and a member of the public, and no injuries were reported, the statement added.

“The man, who has a history of mental health problems has been arrested for public nuisance. Police investigations are ongoing,” said the police.

According to an eyewitness, 34-year-old freelance copywriter Andrea Heng, the incident took place at around 2pm on the mall’s ground floor.

Heng had been at the mall’s Starbucks outlet when she heard shouting from the other end of the mall. Soon after, she saw the teenager walking slowly past the eatery while carrying a pair of kitchen scissors.



She said the teenager was being followed from behind by three mall security officers who were trying to talk the teenager into dropping the scissors. The teenager, dressed in a blue T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, seemed to ignore the officers and continued on his way, said Heng, who noted that the teenager was not waving the scissors about in any threatening way.

At one point, a male member of the public, distracted the teenager by stamping his foot and moving quickly to snatch the scissors out of his hand, said Heng. This is when the mall security officers stepped in to apprehend the teenager, bringing him to the ground in the process.

“He looked unstable and very tense, but spoke normally when (the mall security officers) asked if he was carrying anything else on him,” Heng told Yahoo News Singapore. She noted that the teenager did not put up a fight when apprehended.

The incident, which lasted about 10 to 15 minutes drew armed police quick response team officers to the scene and the teenager was later taken away in a police car.

Last December, an 18-year-old teenager armed with a 10cm pair of scissors was arrested at Bedok Mall after he was spotted shouting aggressively and gesticulating wildly at passersby, causing some some to flee. The police did not confirm if the same teenager was involved in the incident on Thursday.

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