3-hour drama at Feng Hua

A man grabbed two machetes from Feng Hua Store in San Jose, allegedly threatened to kill his wife, then barricaded himself on the third floor of the store’s building before surrendering to police after three hours on Saturday.

The incident started at 11:07am and ended at 2pm after 31-year-old Alfred Kaipat, also known as Jacob, dropped the machetes, opened the gate to the building, and surrendered to police, a police detective told Saipan Tribune.

The type of two machetes that Alfred Kaipat grabbed from the shelf at Feng Hua Store in San Jose before he barricaded himself inside the building on Saturday. After a three-hour drama, Kaipat surrendered to police. (Ferdie de la Torre)

Police patrol cars surround Feng Hua Store in San Jose on Saturday after Alfred Kaipat, armed with two machetes, allegedly threatened to kill his wife. (Joel D. Pinaroc)

Police were able to convince Kaipat to surrender after he talked to his mother and his five-year-old niece, the detective said.

Kaipat was taken to the Department of Correction on charges of violation of an order of court protection, disturbing the peace, and theft. The suspect has pending domestic violence cases.

Many people, some climbing atop vans and in nearby buildings, watched the drama after heavily armed members of the Department of Public Safety’s Tactical Response Enforcement Team and other patrol and traffic officers positioned themselves in the vicinity of the three-story Feng Hua building on Monsignor Guerrero Road near the corner of Apengagh Avenue.

Some construction workers doing a road project in front of Feng Hua building had to stop their work. Many thought there was a hostage drama as many officers, including TRET, were seen in the vicinity of Feng Hua building.

Officers blocked Monsignor Guerrero Road by cordoning the area with long yellow tapes. Firefighters and medics also came. In total, about 25 to 30 police officers and firefighters responded, a police detective told Saipan Tribune.

Saipan Tribune learned from police and a witness that the “drama” began when Kaipat, who lives in the room on the third floor of Feng Hua building, went down to the store on the first floor of the building and grabbed two machetes from the shelf.

The owner of Feng Hua store said that Kaipat just walked out of the store without paying for the two machetes, which measure about two and a half feet and is worth $27 each.

The owner said she asked Kaipat to pay for the machetes but the latter just continued walking outside the store.

In the parking lot of the building, Kaipat allegedly told another man that he is going upstairs to his unit where he would wait and kill his Chinese wife.

Kaipat and his wife have been staying in the Feng Hua apartment for more than two years now.

The wife, who was in their Dandan store at that time, was alerted about Kaipat’s threat and called the police.

In 10 to 15 minutes, a police officer arrived at the Feng Hua building, then followed by more officers. Police, however, could not get near Kaipat because he had locked the gate leading to the third floor.

Police then talked to Kaipat’s mother. Kaipat, who was seen outside his room, later dropped the machetes, opened the gate and surrendered to police.

The owner of Feng Hua said she and her employee could not get out from the store because police prevented them.

She said the couple had just opened a store in Dandan by the end of last year.

She said the building’s other tenants were not in when the incident happened, she added.