[N 1] About 30 preschool children aged between 2 and 6 years old and four teachers of the kindergarten in Sungai Abong were held hostages starting at 9:15 a.m. Malaysian time (UTC+8), by Lau Hui Chung, also known as Loi Hui Chung and Ah Teong, aged 40, who had barged into the double-storey building wielding a machete and hammer, and was suspected to be mentally deranged and a drug addict.

[N 2] The Special Actions Unit or Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), firetruck and ambulance were deployed on stand-by to face the crisis amid police's negotiation and persuasion effort by suspect family members.

The over six-hour stand-off ended exactly at 4:00 p.m. after UTK members stormed the building at 3:40 p.m. with tear gas and shot the suspect in the head.

[6][7] The suspect was taken to the nearby Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital (HPSF) where he was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m.[8] All 30 kindergarten children and four teachers were unharmed.

[11] The police have also instructed kindergartens and day-care centres in the area to tighten their security following the hostage drama.