Man, 64, charged with murder of Geylang coffee-shop helper
Toh Sia Guan, centre, who has been charged with the murder 52-year-old Goh Eng Thiam in Geylang, outside court on July 22, 2016. Photo: Robin Choo/TODAY
SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old man was charged on Friday (July 22) with the murder of 52-year-old Goh Eng Thiam, who was found dead in Geylang two weeks ago.
Toh Sia Guan was accused of killing Goh between 7.30am and 8am on July 9, at Lorong 23 Geylang.
The case is one of several alleged murder cases reported over the past fortnight, including that of a 31-year-old female engineer from China, Cui Yajie, whose remains were found on Wednesday. The spate of deaths had prompted the police to say that no effort would be spared in tracking down the offenders.
Toh, who wore a red polo T-shirt to court on Friday, will be remanded for a week, and the judge granted permission for the police to take him out for investigations. He is expected to appear in court on July 29.
The murder case was reported on July 9, when Goh was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene at 8.11am, said a statement from the Singapore Police Force. The police also said they had received a call asking for assistance at about 8am that day.
According to media reports, Goh worked as a coffee-shop helper. Several weapons, such as a long wooden stick and a short knife, were reportedly found at the scene.
If convicted of Goh’s murder, Toh faces the death penalty.
Apart from the cases involving Goh and Cui, three other killings have been reported in the past two weeks.
The victims were a 42-year-old man who died after being stabbed outside a Jalan Besar pub; a 55-year-old man who died after a fight at a pub in Boat Quay; and a 26-year-old man found dead outside a flat in Yishun.
On Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations & Intelligence) Tan Chye Hee, who is also director of the Criminal Investigation Department, said the recent murder cases have posed different sets of challenges to the police.
He added: “The police are committed to keeping Singapore safe and will spare no effort to track down offenders to ensure that they face the full brunt of the law.”
