Orchard Towers murder: Man who jumped bail rearrested and taken back to court

Police officers investigating the crime scene at Orchard Towers on July 2, 2019. Tan Hong Sheng had failed to turn up in court on Aug 29. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

SINGAPORE - A man allegedly linked to the Orchard Towers murder who jumped bail last month has been rearrested and was taken back to court on Friday (Sept 27).

Tan Hong Sheng, 22, who was one of seven people originally charged with the murder of Mr Satheesh Noel Gobidass, was arrested on Thursday.

The other six people are: Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, 23; Loo Boon Chong, 25; Tan Sen Yang, 28 as well as Joel Tan Yun Sheng, Chan Jia Xing, and Ang Da Yuan, who are all 26 years old. Their cases are still pending.

On Friday, Tan Hong Sheng was also served with an unrelated rioting charge.

While he was out on bail on Aug 9, he was allegedly part of an unlawful assembly with four other people who came together to cause hurt to a man identified as Desmond Neo Zhao Fu, 30.

Tan Hong Sheng is accused of committing this offence outside Club Secret at Central Mall in Magazine Road near Havelock Road at around 3.40am that day.

The group was allegedly part of a huge brawl caught on a video which was later uploaded online.

Neo is also facing a similar rioting charge and will be back in court on Oct 8.

On July 11, Tan Hong Sheng, along with Loo and Chan, had their murder charges reclassified to that of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.

The trio were then released on bail.

According to court documents, they were in the company of Tan Sen Yang, who is said to have had a foldable "kerambit" knife in his possession at the Naughty Girl Club on the second storey of Orchard Towers at 5.46am on July 2.

The weapon is a curved knife resembling a claw.

Loo and Chan dutifully turned up in court on Aug 29 but Tan Hong Sheng was nowhere to be found.

A warrant of arrest was then issued against him.

Mr Satheesh, 31, was attacked on July 2.

The brawl was captured by cameras placed outside a shop on the first storey of Orchard Towers.

The closed-circuit television footage showed Mr Satheesh exchanging blows with some individuals before he stumbled in front of the building's glass doors.

He appeared to be bleeding from his neck and the footage showed bystanders trying to staunch the flow of blood.

Mr Satheesh was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital but died at 7.25am.

Tan Hong Sheng's case has been adjourned to Oct 4 and he is now remanded at the Central Police Division. Loo and Chan will be back in court on Oct 10.

Offenders convicted of murder will face the death penalty.

Those convicted of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place can be jailed for up to three years and receive at least six strokes of the cane.

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