FOR SAFETY: Two safety life air packs were set up under the block in Boon Lay as a precautionary measure.
TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Boon Lay drama: Relatives call cops over safety of children
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Jan 31, 2016 6:00am
By CATHERINE ROBERT,ARIFFIN JAMAR
Last night, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) launched a dramatic operation after fears that a man would harm his children.
Officers were seen at the top of Block 186, Boon Lay Avenue, all ready to rappel down to a unit on the 22nd storey shortly after 9.35pm.
Two safety life air packs were also set up under the block as a precautionary measure, said an SCDF spokesman.
Rescuers were on standby too. Two fire engines, three support vehicles and an ambulance were despatched to the scene.
The stand-off started earlier in the day, said Mr Nashir Haji Yusop who is the man's uncle by marriage.
Mr Nashir, 56, told The New Paper on Sunday in Malay: "My sister had gone over at 9am to try and persuade the man to take his eldest son to the doctor.
"She was concerned because the father had hit the boy (on Friday) and there were marks on the boy's shoulder and neck."
The man was upset with his son, who had ignored repeated warnings not to play with the family's pet rabbit, which cost $3,000, added Mr Nashir.
The man has five children, aged between five and 10. It is not clear where the children's mother was.
Mr Nashir recounted how his sister stood outside the three-room flat, trying to convince the man to let her in.
"I went down later at around 9pm to help my sister talk to the man, but he told us, 'The police has come to my home six times already, you better just leave.'"
Mr Nashir said the man refused to let either of them in. The children were locked inside, along with a woman relative.
He said: "The children's father is a hot-tempered man. He had previously threatened to throw his children down (from the flat) when he was angry.
"We were so worried over the safety of the young ones and decided to call the police."
A police spokesman said the man was arrested for alleged child abuse last night.
Investigations are ongoing.
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