No basis to suspect foul play in prisoner's death: Coroner

A man, sentenced to life imprisonment and three strokes of the cane in 2004 for his role in a seven-year-old girl's kidnapping the previous year, killed himself on July 8 this year at Changi Prison.

Chua Ser Lien, 58, who had a history of bipolar disorder and was serving his sentence at the prison's psychiatric housing unit, had climbed a flight of stairs from the third storey to the fourth, then climbed up internal railings, before releasing his grip.

He hit his neck and the back of his head when he fell, and landed at the foot of the third-floor staircase. He was rushed to Changi General Hospital and died of a head injury at 10.15am that day.

An inquiry into his death revealed yesterday that prison officers had not been negligent and Chua had been receiving appropriate medical treatment while behind bars. He had also displayed no suicidal tendencies.

Coroner Marvin Bay, who said there was no basis to suspect foul play, found that Chua had killed himself. "Measures have been put in place after this event, with instructions given that no inmate is to remain alone at all times outside the cell," the coroner said. "It is understood that other safety measures are under review to prevent any recurrence, including a possible sensor system to warn of persons who are near the railings."

Chua, who used to own a cleaning company, was one of two men linked to the girl's kidnapping.

They abducted her from her home off Yio Chu Kang Road at about 4.30pm on Christmas Day in 2003. A catering assistant, who was at the girl's home preparing for a Christmas party, heard a commotion and, upon seeing the getaway vehicle, took down its licence plate number. The catering assistant alerted her husband, who gave chase. The kidnappers released the girl off Tampines Street 72, half an hour after taking her.

Chua and his accomplice, transport manager Tan Ping Koon, then 35, were each sentenced to life imprisonment and three strokes of the cane in 2004.

Relating the sequence of events leading up to Chua's death this year, Coroner Bay said Chua's fellow inmates had gone off for their scheduled one hour of television time at around 8.30am.

Closed-circuit television footage played in court yesterday showed Chua walking up a flight of stairs to the fourth storey. Another clip shows him climbing onto railings near a stairwell. Prison staff were alerted, but he released his grip before he could be taken to safety.

In a statement yesterday, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) said: "Following a post-incident review, SPS is studying the feasibility of installing motion sensors which will alert staff should an inmate come too close to the railing and/or installing additional railings at the stairs to deter inmates from scaling from the stairs to the railings."

It added: "SPS officers had reached out to Mr Chua's family after his demise to extend any help and assistance required. SPS again conveys our deepest condolences to Mr Chua's family."

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

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