A 44-year-old Malaysian woman has admitted to her role in a knife attack that took place at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre in October 2025. The case, which shocked shoppers and people in the area, returned to court this week where she formally pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
The woman, identified as Chong, was assessed by psychiatrists to have been suffering from schizophrenia and experiencing a relapse at the time of the incident. However, medical experts determined that she was not of unsound mind during the attack and was fit to stand trial.
Court proceedings revealed disturbing details about the events that unfolded inside the mall, raising broader concerns about mental health management and public safety in community spaces.
Armed With 12cm Knife, Charged at Victims
According to court documents, Chong went to the Manmin Resource Centre located within the shopping complex to look for her aunt. She was armed with a 12cm-long “Jaya Mata” knife when she arrived.
Chong was reportedly a familiar face at the centre due to previous incidents involving aggressive behaviour. Upon arrival, she asked a woman, Caroline, about her aunt’s whereabouts. After Caroline said she did not know and walked off to help locate the relative, other congregants alerted her that Chong was holding a knife.
Chong then allegedly threatened Caroline and charged towards her. During the commotion, she tripped and fell, accidentally slashing another woman nearby. Despite the fall, she continued advancing, prompting two congregants, Wong and Chan, to intervene.
Wong sustained two full-thickness lacerations on her right forearm after Chong swung the knife. The injuries were serious, affecting her artery, nerve and muscle tendons, and required surgical repair. Chan also suffered a cut to his right leg during the scuffle.
IMH Assessment and Sentencing to Follow
Chong was subsequently assessed at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where psychiatrists confirmed she was undergoing a schizophrenic relapse during the attack. Nevertheless, she was deemed legally responsible for her actions.
In mitigation, Chong told the court she had recently lost her job and was emotionally unstable at the time. “I am very sorry and I plead for leniency,” she said, as reported by The Straits Times.
She has since been convicted of voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and causing hurt by a rash act. Court documents indicate that her risk of reoffending is assessed to be high if released without supervision.
The presiding judge ordered that Chong be remanded at IMH for two weeks for further evaluation before sentencing. She is scheduled to be sentenced in mid-March 2026.
Additional charges remain pending, including an earlier alleged assault at the same shopping centre earlier that month, as well as a separate altercation at Woodlands Checkpoint in September 2025.
The case underscores the complex intersection between mental health treatment, criminal responsibility and community safety in Singapore’s legal framework.