Tower Transit duo restrain fire-extinguisher-wielding man at Yishun bus interchange, call themselves 'not heroes'

Two Tower Transit employees intervened to protect their elderly colleague and members of the public after a man went on a chaotic rampage at Yishun Integrated Transport Hub on the morning of 19 January 2026. Bus captain Muhammad Zaki Selamat, 42, and interchange supervisor Mohd Faisal Zakaria, 41, were on their break at the hub on Yishun Avenue 2 when they were informed that their colleague, 74-year-old Ms Ong Emin, had been punched by a man who was subsequently described as looking 'totally off' despite being dressed in a blazer and tie. When the pair approached the assailant, he retreated into the Mr Teh Tarik Express outlet inside the interchange, seized a fire extinguisher, pulled the pin, and began discharging it at commuters — a scene Mr Zaki likened to 'Genting Highlands'. Faisal tailed the man as he continued spraying through Northpoint City on the first floor of the mall, where the man also doused a shopper who had confronted him, leaving the man's body 'all white'. When the assailant finally flung the extinguisher away, Faisal caught it mid-air and grabbed the man's hand to restrain him, holding on until Zaki and police arrived. The Singapore Police Force confirmed they received a call for assistance at 920 Yishun Avenue 2 at approximately 9.30am, and that a 58-year-old man was arrested for public nuisance and unsound mind, with further investigations ongoing for voluntarily causing hurt and mischief. A passer-by also stayed behind with Ms Ong and helped call the police during the chaos. Speaking to Stomp on 27 January, both men deflected praise, with Zaki noting a troubling rise in aggression on the job: 'Last time, such things seldom happen. Then it became often. Now, it's a lot. People are triggered by the littlest things.'