Guilty As Charged: Shocking crimes that have shaken Singapore since 1965
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Guilty As Charged: 25 Crimes That Have Shaken Singapore Since 1965, was first published in The Straits Times Star E-books app in July 2015. The publication was a collaboration between The Straits Times and the Singapore Police Force.
Published May 14, 2016, 05:15 AM
The following stories were first published in The Straits Times Star E-books app in July 2015 as an e-book titled Guilty As Charged: 25 Crimes That Have Shaken Singapore Since 1965.
The publication was a collaboration between The Straits Times and the Singapore Police Force.
WARNING: Some contents in these stories may be disturbing for some individuals.
The dance hostess was the first woman to get the death penalty in Singapore for murdering her Japanese lover's wife. Her husband also went to the gallows for the murder.
The notorious gunman who engaged in Hollywood-style shootings with police met his end in a showdown at Margaret Drive. He had gained so much notoriety that after he was shot to death by police, 33 inmates escaped from a reformative training centre just to attend his funeral.
Khalil (left) and Suhaymi of the swimming trunk gang arriving for court before being sentenced to 64 years in jail and 144 strokes of the cane in total.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Greed proved the downfall of these serial robbers, who struck in nothing more than underwear. They were believed to have been responsible for some 500 offences including housebreakings, thefts and armed robberies. Their total haul amounted to nearly $500,000 - an all-time record in local criminal history then.
THE KILLERS: (from left) Yeo Ching Boon, Ong Hwee Kuan and Ong Chin Hock.
PHOTO: ST FILE
The three friends, all aged 21, wanted a gun so they could become robbers. They planned to steal a gun from the sentry at a police reserve unit in Mount Vernon.
Adrian Lim's House of Horror: Two children were killed here, a seventh-story flat in Block 12, Toa Payoh Lorong 7. The unit was vacant for five years after the murders until a Catholic family moved in.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Adrian Lim, a charlatan medium seen by many as the very embodiment of evil, and his two "holy" wives, kidnapped, tortured and killed a pair of children. Lim, who was being investigated on a rape charge, wanted to exact revenge on the police by murdering children.
Members of the Police Tactical Team outside retired businessman Robert Tay’s bungalow at Andrew Road on July 23, 1983. Mr Tay, his wife and their Filipino maid were found murdered.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Sek Kim Wah killed a retired businessman, his wife and their maid during a robbery, and would have killed two more if not for his reluctant accomplice.
EXTRADITED: Leeson being escorted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department as he clears immigration at Changi Airport after being extradited from Frankfurt.
PHOTO: ST FILE
While based in Singapore, he brought down Britain's oldest merchant bank Barings and created a worldwide financial scandal. He falsified accounts and trading records, racking up $2.2 billion in losses.
The prison van carrying murderer John Martin Scripps leaving the High Court after the trial.
PHOTO: ST FILE
John Martin Scripps befriended unknowing tourists, then butchered them and drained their bank accounts. He killed in Singapore and Thailand, and was the first Westerner to be hanged for murder in the Republic.
Station Inspector Zainal Abidin holding the watch for which Jonaris killed Madam Poh.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Jonaris Badlishah wanted to give his girlfriend a Rolex. He did not have the money, so he killed to get the $7,500, gold and diamond-studded watch. He struck make-up artist Sally Poh Bee Eng more than 10 times on the head with a hammer.
He showed no remorse after luring a teenager into killing his wife, who had wanted a divorce. He offered the killer $100,000 and coached him on how to stab Madam Leong in the neck.
British businessman Michael McCrea sitting in a police van leaving the Subordinate Courts. He killed his driver and a Chinese national, and was sentenced to a total of 24 years in jail.
PHOTO: ZAOBAO FILE
Michael McCrea tried to escape justice by fleeing Singapore but finally paid the price for killing a woman and his driver - a man he called his brother.
Asia Pacific Breweries executive Chia Teck Leng (left) cheated four banks of more than $117 million. His girlfriend Li Jin faced charges of using a forged passport to enter and leave Singapore.
POLICE FILE PHOTOS
Chia Teck Leng secretly led a double life as a high-rolling hustler, complete with flashy cars, luxury apartments and a girlfriend half his age. The "unremarkable" family man cheated banks of millions.
Huang Na's parents had to be supported at the Mandai Crematorium as they watched their daughter's coffin roll into the furnace. The Primary 2 student was killed in a storeroom at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.
PHOTO: ST FILE
When the eight-year-old went missing, Singaporeans from all walks of life helped in the search. But she was already dead - killed by Took Leng How, a man she treated as an uncle.
The police found the murdered woman’s head at an incineration plant in Tuas.
PHOTO: ST FILE
He stole his young lover's ATM card and withdrew her money. Then fearing that she would identify him, factory supervisor Leong Siew Chor killed and dismembered the body into seven parts.
Body parts were found in a bag near the Orchard MRT station on Sept 9, 2005.
PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE
The two maids were the best of friends, until a dispute over money led to Guen Garlejo Aguilar killing Mrs Jane Parangan La Puebla, then gruesomely disposing of the body in separate bags.
Gangster Tan Chor Jin was so-called because he was blind in one eye. He repeatedly shot a nightclub owner, killing him, before conducting his own defence in court and failing miserably.
James Phang Wah, the founder and head of Sunshine Empire, was sentenced to nine years’ jail and a $60,000 fine for criminal breach of trust.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Self-styled entrepreneur James Phang Wah promised huge returns through The Sunshine Empire's "revolutionary" investment plan, but it was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
Madam Mastura Kamsir refusing to leave her daughter Nonoi’s side after she was buried.
ST FILE PHOTO
When two-year-old Nurasyura Mohamed Fauzi went missing, her stepdad Mohammed Ali Johari joined the search. But it was he who had murdered her, and hidden the body.
Murder suspect Wang Zhijian being escorted to the crime scene at Block 349, Yishun Avenue 11 by police officers. He killed three women, including his lover and her daughter.
PHOTO: ST FILE
A tumultuous love affair ends with Chinese national Wang Zhijian going on a murderous rampage one night, killing his lover, her daughter and a flatmate after a quarrel over money for crab.
Yap Weng Wah committed the offences over a period of three years, until June 2012 when the sister of an 11-year-old checked his cellphone. She found SMS exchanges between Yap and her brother. They went to the police.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Engineer Yap Weng Wah got 30 years in jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane for abusing at least 31 boys. The phrase "did penetrate" was repeated 74 times in the 23-page charge sheet. The other two charges involved him causing a 15-year-old boy "to penetrate" Yap's mouth, and directing a 12-year-old to send a video of the child doing a sexual act.
