Man arrested after fight between neighbours in King George’s Avenue leaves one dead

SINGAPORE – A feud between two elderly neighbours left one man dead and saw another arrested for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means.

The fight on Dec 22 at Block 805 King George’s Avenue alarmed residents, including Madam Khoo, a former cleaner in her 70s who lives next door to the alleged assailant.

She said she was in her room when the sound of people shouting and fighting roused her from her sleep.

Madam Khoo said she was too afraid to open her front door, and waited for her husband.

When he returned from church at around noon, he told her he saw a trail of blood from the first-floor lift lobby to the corridor outside their unit on the eight floor.

The deceased had stumbled to the ground floor, where he was found unconscious.

Singapore Civil Defence Force said paramedics attended to both men and took them to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. One of them later died of his injuries at the hospital.

Police said preliminary investigations showed that the two men got into a dispute before it turned into a fight.

“The 69-year-old man sustained injuries and was conveyed unconscious to the hospital, where he subsequently passed away.

“The 71-year-old man was arrested for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means,” said the police.

Neighbours told The Straits Times that both men lived on the eighth floor, three doors from each other. The younger man was not working, while the older man is a security guard at a carpark.

Shin Min Daily News reported that the dispute had started on the first floor, when the deceased scolded his neighbour for not apologising after bumping into him.

He was still unhappy after he returned to the flat he shares with his older brother. The younger man then walked over to his neighbour’s unit carrying a pole.

Residents said during the confrontation, the older man took a blade and the two wrestled with each other.

Mr Chua Kim Swee, 74, said he was in hospital after suffering a stroke when he received calls that his younger brother was hurt in a fight.

Speaking to ST on the phone, Mr Chua said his younger brother had received an angioplasty procedure after suffering a stroke some years ago.

Describing his younger brother as bad-tempered, Mr Chua said they were not on good terms. He added that his brother had depression.

Mr Chua said his younger brother occasionally got into arguments with neighbours, adding in Mandarin: “He doesn’t have strength in his body but he still wanted to fight.”

He said he would request to leave the hospital briefly on Dec 24 to attend his younger brother’s wake, which his friends are helping to organise.

Madam Khoo said the alleged assailant had lived next door to them for about 20 years.

Speaking in Mandarin, she said: “We would say hi occasionally. I was shocked when I heard what happened, because I’ve never heard of conflicts here before.”

A taxi driver in his 30s, who only wanted to be known as Mr Muhammad, said he heard someone shouting: “Stop! ‘Hamtam’! (Malay slag for beating).”

“The police interviewed us and looked through my brother’s belongings outside our unit to check for clues,” said Mr Muhammad, who lives on the same floor as the feuding neighbours.

Madam Koh Peck Heng said the deceased, whom they knew as “Ah Tong”, had lived there for about 10 years.

Madam Koh, 71, said she used to cook for him daily as she is on good terms with his older brother, but stopped doing so after “Ah Tong” scolded her.

Police investigations are ongoing.