Yesterday (Wednesday, 28th October) a Malaysian man who referred to himself as the “Messiah” wreaked havoc at a Little Ipoh Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia.
According to multiple news outlets, the Australian police were called to the restaurant just after 1pm following reports that a man armed with a knife and a fork was arging with the Little Ipoh Restaurant staff.
The siege then went on for about 2 hours.
In a The Star Online report, the man is said to have charged at officers with his weapon when they arrived and was sprayed with pepper spray before barricading himself inside the Malaysian-owned restaurant. He was said to have smashed a window, through which the Australian special operations group negotiated with him.
The Star Online also quoted Little Ipoh Restaurant owner Raja Yasmin Raja Abdul as saying that the individual ― who they only knew as “Panjang” (the Malay word for long) ― had told her that he had no money. She explained, “The man had visited my restaurant a couple of times before. He is Malaysian, but I don’t know his name. I only know that his nickname is Panjang because he is tall. He seemed normal. And from previous conversations with him, he said that he had a job in Queensland, but he was now jobless due to some internal problems and had no money.”
“He sounded depressed. So I encouraged him to ask around for jobs,” she added.
It is believed that “Panjang” had become aggressive when he visited the restaurant at around noon as he was hungry but penniless.
In a video of the seige, “Panjang” was seen at one time squatting on a window ledge, then erratically banging the weapon in his hand on a metal-sounding surface once inside.
Although no one was physically injured, “Panjang” did leave a trail of destruction as he caused a lot of damage to the restaurant. He pulled out their CCTV cameras, smashed their computer, broke glasses and jugs, and even threw their money out the window. This include throwing the range of items from the window at the police prior to his arrest.
Upon being detained, it was reported that his wounds were attended to and that he was being mentally assessed.
Sources: Daily Mail, The Star Online, MMO, FMT / Featured image from Daily Mail.
