SINGAPORE - A man who allegedly attacked a woman in Beach Road with a chopper on Thursday (April 14) afternoon has been arrested.

The man, 46, who is believed to be the woman's husband, was Tasered and subdued by officers before he was arrested, said the police.

In its statement, the police said it responded to a case of assault with a chopper at 75 Beach Road at about 5.30pm.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found a woman, 41, with slash wounds. She was sent to hospital conscious.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the 46-year-old man had allegedly attacked the woman with a chopper," the police said.

"Prior to the officers' arrival, the man was believed to have slit his own wrists with a chopper."

The man was subsequently arrested and sent to hospital conscious. The chopper was seized. Police investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said two people were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Jeremy Ang, Commander of Central Police Division, said: "The Police would like to commend the members of the public who had intervened to prevent the man from causing further harm to the woman."

The alleged assailant will be charged in court on Saturday with attempted murder.

Those convicted can be jailed for life, or up to 20 years with a fine, or both.

The police said it is aware of videos circulating online of the incident and urged the public to refrain from circulating them and speculating on the case.

Several videos of the brutal assault have been circulating not just online but also in message groups.

In them, the man, clad in a black T-shirt and trousers and wearing a black cap, can be seen hacking at the woman with a weapon.

His hands were stained with blood.

Several members of the public, who appear to be kitchen staff from a nearby hotpot restaurant, Zhong Hua Steamboat, is seen throwing various items, including chairs and pails, to ward off the attacker.

The man is seen running towards Beach Road, before running back towards a back alley of Liang Seah Street.

When ST arrived at the scene at about 7pm, there were four police cars there and Zhong Hua Steamboat had been cordoned off.

More than 10 police officers were present and blood stains were visible on the ground of the back alley.

A staff member from an eatery nearby, who wished to be known only as Ms Zhang, said she saw a woman running out from behind one of the shops and a man coming at her with a chopper.

According to her, the man chased the woman to the front of the outlet, pressed her to the ground and hacked at her with the weapon.

Her head and face were bloodied.

About seven to eight employees from the hotpot restaurant then ran out and threw items at the man until he backed away, she added.

The incident lasted for about 10 minutes.

The owner of next-door restaurant, Chong Qing Origin Hotpot, who did not wish to be named, said the victim was one of his employees.

Another person, who runs an online media site on the third storey of Liang Seah Place, a building on the street, and wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said he and his colleagues heard a commotion from the toilet window and filmed the incident.

His video showed the man in the back alley.

One of his three colleagues who witnessed the slashing called the police.

Said Mr Lim, who is 44: “We all felt it was very surreal. It’s not something you usually see. There was a lot of blood all over the back alley streets.”

A staff member of Zhong Hua Steamboat, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lin, said four employees from their restaurant came out to help.

He added in Mandarin: "I was a bit scared, but I also wanted to make sure the man didn't hurt anyone else."

Owner of Samurai BBQ, Mr Leonard Shi, 41, said he was smoking in the back alley when he heard a woman shouting and saw a man, who is about 1.6m tall, hacking at her with a chopper.

The man hacked at her twice before the chopper broke. But he continued his attack, holding on to the chopper blade and pulling at her hair.

Mr Shi said: "My manager and I threw a road sign at him. I shouted that I had called the police, but there was no response from him.

"I shouted at him to put his knife down and he came at me with the chopper. I backed away slowly."

"If I had not helped her, she would have died," Mr Shi added.