‘I’m not a hero’: Cleaner who subdued knife-wielding man in Clementi learned silat in prison

‘I’m not a hero’: Cleaner who subdued knife-wielding man in Clementi learned silat in prison Mr Osman Sidin wrestled the knife away from the man and pinned him to the ground until help arrived. SINGAPORE: When 56-year-old cleaner Osman Sidin heard shouts for help from a crowd outside Clementi Mall on Monday (Aug 10), he saw a man holding a knife and decided to intervene. The man had stabbed himself repeatedly with the knife before Mr Osman stepped in and wrestled it away from him. Mr Osman then pinned the man to the ground until help arrived. "I was just concerned about the public. There were kids screaming, and he was carrying a knife,” Mr Osman told CNA on Tuesday. "The knife (appeared to be) a durian chopper. It was very sharp, but there was no one that was helping (with the situation)." Mr Osman, who was on his way to a medical appointment, handed his belongings to his wife before grappling with the 34-year-old man and pinning him to the ground. As the two men fell, Mr Osman injured the back of his head. The man he was restraining had suffered what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries, and blood spilled over both of them. "It felt like I was grappling with him for minutes. I kept shouting for someone in the crowd to please help me, kick the knife away,” he said. The police were called to the scene at Block 441B Clementi Avenue 3 at about 12.20pm. Mr Osman said he was grateful to members of the public who handed him shirts to wipe away the blood and stem his own bleeding. "My body had blood, and my head was all bloody," he said. It was brutal." His wife, who had been filming the incident, was proud of him, he added. Mr Osman's ability to restrain the man was not entirely down to instinct. Speaking to CNA over the phone, he said he had once led a life of crime and served time in prison, where he learned silat, a form of martial arts, from a cellmate. "Sorry to say, I’m not a hero," said Mr Osman. "I had learned some martial arts, and I was lucky that I could pin him down." Mr Osman told CNA that he fell into bad company in his youth and committed crimes that eventually landed him in prison, although he declined to elaborate on his past offences. Since leaving prison, he said he has tried to give back to society and does charity work with Jamiyah Singapore, a Muslim charity organisation. "This is my payback time," he said. "I was a criminal once upon a time, and now I changed for the good." He was visited by Member of Parliament for Jurong East-Bukit Batok David Hoe at his rental flat in Clementi on Monday night. Mr Hoe said in a Facebook post that Mr Osman is part of the Yellow Ribbon Singapore community for ex-offenders and had turned over a new leaf. Mr Osman said he was treated in hospital for minor head injuries on Monday and was given medical leave, but decided he was fit enough to return to work as an office cleaner in the Alexandra area on Tuesday. "There’s some part of my body that’s injured, but I just took some Panadols and it should be ok, I went back to work already," he added. Asked if he had any words for the man he disarmed, Mr Osman said: "I told him, just pray hard, whether you are a Muslim or Buddhist or whatever, just pray hard." A man with a knife was disarmed by a passer-by in Clementi. Both men were later taken to hospital. When police arrived, they found the man with injuries believed to be self-inflicted lying conscious outside Clementi Mall. Witnesses told CNA that the 34-year-old man stabbed himself repeatedly before the other man jumped in and grabbed the knife away. Where to get help: National mental health helpline: 1771 Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767 Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019 You can also find a list of international helplines here. If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.