SINGAPORE: Police are searching for a man who threatened to blow up a pawn shop outside Boon Lay MRT station on Saturday afternoon (Jul 28) after a failed attempt to rob it.



The man entered the pawn shop at about 4.30pm, said the police.



Armed with a knife and a gun that is believed to be a replica, the man demanded that an employee hand over cash and jewellery.

When the employee refused, the man allegedly said he would blow up the shop, claiming he had an explosive device.

"The man then threw the said object on the counter and fled the pawnshop without taking any items. The said object was immediately thrown out of the pawnshop by the staff who then called the police," said the Singapore Police Force in a Facebook post.





"The police had established that the object only contained some electrical components."



Authorities added that no one was injured.

The incident prompted the closure of exit C of the MRT station near Jurong Point mall. Police said earlier that they were investigating a suspicious object, which turned out to be nothing incriminating.



The pedestrian square near Jurong Point and several shops were cordoned off. Officers were seen walking in and out of a ValueMax pawn shop to take photos.



Armed police seen near exit C of Boon Lay MRT station on Jul 28, 2018.

In their appeal for information, the police said that the suspect is about 1.75m tall and was last seen wearing a pink turban, blue jacket and long brown pants.



In a subsequent statement on Wednesday (Aug 1), police said that the man has been arrested.

Police earlier said the case has been classified under Section 4(A) of the Arms Offences Act, which carries the death penalty.

