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SINGAPORE: A 42-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday (Dec 10) for the murder of a 34-year-old woman, after she was stabbed at a shop in Hougang.

The Singapore Police Force was called to the case at about 11.05am on Tuesday, at a shophouse at Block 210 Hougang Street 21.

Three people were taken to hospital, including the woman and a 26-year-old man, who were found with stab wounds. The woman later died in hospital.

The suspect was arrested at the scene.

"He was found with injuries sustained during the attack and was conveyed to the hospital," the police said in a media release.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that all parties are known to each other."

The man will be charged on Thursday with murder, an offence which carries the death penalty.

Block 210 in Hougang, which is next to Kovan Market and Food Centre, is a four-storey building with shops on the first floor and flats above.

When CNA arrived at the scene at about 1.50pm, part of the ground floor was cordoned off, affecting several retail outlets including a fruit stall, a gold shop and a hardware shop.

At least nine police officers were seen in the cordoned area.

A stall assistant who works at the fruit stall told CNA he went into the hardware shop after hearing an argument and saw a man stabbing a woman at least seven to eight times.

He said the victim has been working at the hardware shop for one to two years. A worker who tried to intervene was injured in the process, said the fruit stall assistant.

Another eyewitness who rushed to the scene with a friend after hearing what happened said she heard that a man had taken a knife from the hardware shop and stabbed a woman who works there. 

The police cordons were removed at about 5.10pm. Three workers in gloves were seen cleaning the shop, including an area behind the counter.

Additional reporting by Koh Wan Ting.