Straits Times, Singapore, 7 November 2006

Karaoke death: Extradited waiter jailed

By Chong Chee Kin

A WAITER who fled the country after he helped beat a man todeath 13 years ago was yesterday sentenced to jail for his partin the crime.

On May 30, 1993, waiter Lim Swee Keong heard a commotion inthe main hall of Crystal Blue Karaoke Lounge.

Lim, then 23, realised a customer was fighting with hisemployer, Mr Tan Tai Seng, so he took an aluminium rod and leaptinto the fray.

He was joined by Mr Tan's younger brother, Thye Tian, who hada baseball bat. The two men launched a brutal attack on thecustomer, Mr Chia Hui Nam, bludgeoning the unarmed man with thebat and metal rod.

Mr Chia, 27, died later in hospital from a skull fracture.

One year later, lounge owner Tan Tai Seng, 47, was jailed fora year for his part in Mr Chia's death. His 40-year-old brother,Thye Tian, was jailed for five years and caned six strokes.

Lim, however, returned to his native Malaysia shortly afterthe attack at the Balestier Plaza lounge.

He was put on the police wanted list, but remained at largeuntil April this year, when he was picked up during a routinecheck in Johor Baru and extradited to Singapore.

Yesterday, Lim, 36, was jailed for five years and given sixstrokes of the rotan for his role in the attack on Mr Chia.

Lim told the court that he returned to Malaysia only becausehis work permit was about to expire and not because he wanted toflee and evade arrest.

The fight had started in the lounge after closing time, whenMr Chia threw a glass onto the stage. When the younger Mr Tanapproached him, Mr Chia grabbed him by his shirt, sparking aviolent scuffle.

The older Mr Tan then took a knife and a wooden pole and hitMr Chia with it. Lim joined in, swinging his rod at Mr Chia'sarms, face and neck.

Mr Chia retreated to the stage in the hall, pursued by thelounge owner and the waiter. The younger Mr Tan followed with abaseball bat and swung it at Mr Chia, who collapsed from theblow.

The fight stopped when Mr Chia's friends carried him out andtook him to hospital.

Lim's lawyers had pleaded for leniency, arguing that Mr Chiaand his friends had 'behaved in a rowdy and disruptive manner' atthe lounge.

Lim had taken the rod as a 'precautionary measure' and joinedin the attack in 'the heat of the moment'.

He could have been jailed for up to 10 years.

Straits Times, Singapore, 22 November 2006

Cellphone row: Man jailed for killing flatmate

By Khushwant Singh

A 23-YEAR-OLD cleaner has been sentenced to 10 years' jail andsix strokes of the cane for stabbing a flatmate to death in adispute over a $100 cellphone.

Gelau Anak Jimbat, from Sabah, pleaded guilty in the HighCourt to killing 19-year-old Mr Azlizan Mali, a fellow cleanerfrom Sarawak, on Jan 11 this year.

The court heard that the men lived with five other cleanersfrom Malaysia, in a four-room flat in Teban Gardens Road. TheSingaporean owner lived in one of the bedrooms.

On the morning of Jan 9, one of the flat occupants was gettingready for work when he spotted Gelau picking up something fromthe folding chair in the living room.

A while later, another flatmate, Mr Marakus Lai Yu, 41, couldnot find his cellphone and suspicion fell on Gelau.

He vehemently denied taking the phone and became furious thatnight when his flatmates asked him about the missing phone again.

Two days later, Mr Azlizan accused Gelau of stealing thephone. Gelau shouted back and Mr Azlizan went at him with aknife.

After disarming his attacker, Gelau stabbed him in the chest,piercing the heart. He then chased and stabbed his flatmate againand again as he tried to flee.

Mr Azlizan collapsed and died at the lift landing.

Gelau faced life imprisonment or up to 10 years for culpablehomicide but Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Howe Ming saidconsidering the circumstances of the case, the prosecutionbelieved the shorter term was adequate.

He said Gelau should have got rid of the knife after disarmingMr Azlizan but instead had stabbed him and chased him, knifinghim another four times.

Gelau's lawyer Amolat Singh said he is very remorseful. 'Hetold me he intends to do penance every day for taking a life sounnecessarily,' Mr Singh added.

The Irrawaddy, Thailand, 27 November 2006

Illegal Burmese Immigrants to Face the Cane in Singapore

By Clive Parker

A Singaporean court on Monday sentenced five Burmese to fourstrokes of the cane each and four weeks in prison for illegalentry after trying to swim to the city state at the weekend.

Ah Myint, Tun Lin Zaw, Maung Mon, Kyaw Thu and Min Thu, allmales aged between 17 and 26 years old, pleaded guilty to thecharge at the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, a courtspokesperson toldThe Irrawaddy.

The case of a sixth Burmese, Thet Soe, was adjourned untilDecember 11 after the defendant chose not to post bail, which wasset at 20,000 Singaporean dollars (US $12,910).

The Singaporean Police Coast Guard detected three of the groupattempting to swim to shore near the Admiralty Road West area ofSingapore shortly after 10 o'clock local time on Saturdayevening, a police statement said. Four hours later, the secondgroup of three was spotted trying to enter at Kranji, near thecauseway that joins Singapore to Malaysia. 

The Burmese embassy in Singapore on Monday said it knewnothing of the case. A spokesperson said that in the past,Burmese caught attempting to enter Singapore illegally had beendeported back to Burma, or the country from which they came,following punishment.

Singaporean authorities have arrested 204 people trying toenter the country illegally this year, including the six Burmesedetained at the weekend.