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

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.