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  It was during one of the gold deliveries that Ang suggested to Andrew the idea of robbing Ngo of the gold. In evidence Andrew thought Ang was making an idle remark. They were on the way to the airport. “I told him I was making good money on these gold deliveries. There was no reason for me to rob Ngo. Augustine was also aware that I had started making inquiries about a new job. I was contemplating leaving Air Vietnam. Ang told me not to be selfish. I should think of him also. The discussion was basically over his anxiety to get rich. He knew that if I left Air Vietnam the idea of the gold robbery would no longer exist.”

  A few days later, Ang brought up the subject again at his house. “He told me he had a plan. Since the gold was smuggled, why not fake a robbery? He told me he could arrange for a few of his men to have me tied up and beaten to show evidence of violence. He would take the gold and have me report the robbery to Ngo. I told him it was a crazy idea since I’d had a very bad accident a few months earlier. I told him to forget the idea as it would probably cause my own death.”

  A week later Augustine mentioned the matter again. They were at the Chous’ home. This time Ang told him he had thought of a better plan. They would waylay Ngo on his way to deliver the gold and rob him. Andrew said he did not agree to the plan because ‘the idea of stopping two cars on the road and robbing them of their gold is sure to end up in violence’.

  Subsequently, Augustine pestered him a number of times and finally he agreed. “In the early part of November 1971, Augustine Ang suggested to me again the idea of robbing Ngo. This time he told me how we could rob Ngo without violence. He told me the plan was simply to let Ngo deliver the gold to my house and, at my house, to catch Ngo, tie him up and keep him in some place. Meanwhile Ang would sell the gold, not leave any evidence of the gold about. After selling the gold he would release Ngo. I told Augustine that I would be the first person Ngo would come looking for. Ang assured me that the police would never be involved. There would never be any violence on Ngo, Ang assured me. He said that since all the gold transactions were smuggling activities he was confident that Ngo would not report the matter to the police. He also told me that since the gold was smuggled Ngo himself would come and look for me. He told me at this point that we would tell Ngo that the gold had been stolen. Then we could start negotiations for its return with Ngo. Augustine convinced me. We could negotiate to retain a certain amount of the proceeds of the sale of the gold. Ang felt that Ngo, being caught in a situation like this, being a businessman, would negotiate for the best he could get out of a bad situation. I asked him if he had considered Ngo’s reactions, such as Ngo getting gangsters to come and beat me up. Ang said if Ngo did that he would have his own gangster connection ready to confront Ngo. Ang felt that comparing Ngo’s financial position and ours that Ngo would have more to lose if the situation gets out of hand. This time I agreed to go along with Augustine’s plan. I thought it was a good idea ... I told him I would leave everything to him. I would trust him. Ang said he would get his men to assist in the robbery. He said he would probably get his friends who had helped me recover the lost money.”

  Andrew’s account of the Hari Raya Puasa trip to Changi was that while the others were talking in Chinese he went for a lonely walk along the beach. On the way back to the house, Ang said softly to him: “It has been arranged.” When he asked for further details Ang put his hand up indicating that he should wait. A few days later (between the 20 and 23 November), Andrew told David of the plan to rob Ngo. About three days later, Ang brought Peter, Alex, Stephen Lee, Fernando Lee and Anchor to his house and they went into the living room. Peter, Alex and Stephen went to the porch. Fernando told Andrew that Fernando and Anchor would help in the robbery. Fernando and Anchor wanted more details: when would the next shipment of gold be, how many people would be delivering it? Andrew told Fernando Lee that he could not be precise about these things, but he would inform Ang when he knew about the next delivery, and Ang would pass the information to them. David Chou told Ang to remind them that this was ‘a robbery and nothing more’.

  Andrew gave evidence that on one occasion when Augustine asked him how much the people were to be paid for helping in the robbery, he had replied that Ang was the boss of this show and whatever he decided was okay with him.

  One day, there was an early delivery of gold to Chepstow Close. Andrew was not in and Ang took delivery. Ang took one gold bar and that evening returned with it and told Andrew that he had shown the gold bar to an interested purchaser who had quoted a price for it. In the witness box, Andrew said he could not remember the price quoted.

  A week after 23 November, Ang told him the deal with Fernando Lee and Anchor was off as one of them had been arrested in a gang fight. Early in December, Ang told him that he contacted a new group. He went along with Ang to the playground off Bras Basah Road just to keep him company. At the playground he told Ang he was very tired and requested to be sent home. He got into a station wagon where he fell asleep. The next thing he knew was that Peter was waking him and telling him they had a flat tyre. They were near Bedok, though Andrew did not say so in his evidence. They came upon a house from which they telephoned David to come and collect him. They then walked to Changi Road and much later David drove up. Andrew said he asked David to take him home. He fell asleep in the car. The next thing he knew he was at home. He went straight into the house and went to sleep.

  Augustine had given evidence to the effect that Andrew and the others, in two cars, had gone to Bedok to search for a suitable place to ‘throw’ the bodies of the three men they intended to kill.

  Andrew’s explanation for his damaged hand was that on 27 December, after his work in the aeroplane had been done, he tripped and fell while descending from the aeroplane. He did not report the accident.

  Andrew described the events of the fateful night in detail. On 29 December 1971 he was to go on duty at 6:30 pm. When he returned home at 5:00 pm after spending the day in the city, there was a message asking him to ring up Leong. By that he knew there would probably be a delivery of gold later that night. He left for work and at the airport he rang up Ngo’s house at 6:30 pm. Ngo told him that ‘they had work that night’. Then Andrew rang up Ang and told him to be at the house that night as gold would be delivered. Ang said: “Let’s do the job tonight.”

  Andrew said he did not say anything. He left the airport at about 11:15 pm and arrived home at about 11:30 pm. “When I got into the living room I saw Augustine and David. They were talking to each other. David seemed a bit annoyed. I interrupted them and asked Augustine: ‘What is the latest?’ He said he was going to do the job that night. I asked him if he was serious and he said he was. He also informed me he had the boys waiting in the car in the road behind my house. I went into my bedroom, took off my shirt and came out again. Augustine was in the backyard. I was in my T-shirt. Augustine showed me some ropes. He was holding them in his hands. He told me they were to be used for tying up the three men. I took the ropes from him and put them on the table in the backyard. The table was shifted to the side. Every evening this dining table is shifted to the side after dinner so that the backyard can be cleaned up. Augustine asked me if it was alright to bring in the boys. I told him: ‘Might as well bring them in here.’ The boys were brought into the backyard. I had made a telephone call to Ngo as soon as I got home. Ngo told me he was sending 120 bars. I don’t know where the ropes came from. I saw them for the first time that evening. Augustine also brought three or four small pieces of cloth. It was in a bundle. He gave them to me. I assumed he brought them as he was holding them. I took the ropes and the three pieces of cloth and put them under the plastic food cover which was on the dining table. Augustine told me the pieces of cloth were to be used as gags. At this stage I told Augustine he might as well bring the boys in. Augustine left the backyard through the back gate to the back road and returned with five or six men. The backyard was very dark. Some of the men were Indians. I could not tell who they were: I recognised Alex and Stephen. I did no
t know the rest. ‘Why so many people?’ I asked Augustine, and he told me not to worry but to leave everything to him. He brought them into the living room. I switched off the main lights in the living room. Only the lights from the Christmas tree were on.

  Whilst I was in the kitchen I removed the tray containing all the cutlery and placed the tray on top of a cabinet. I did this because the tray contained knives. I wanted to make sure that none of them, including Augustine, could have access to these knives. Augustine suggested we should hide the boys. I was also afraid that my mother might wake up. If she did and came out of her bedroom she would see quite a number of strangers in the living room. We all went into the kitchen again, when David and I and Augustine went back into the living room where I told Augustine to help me search their pockets to make sure they carried no knives or weapons. I searched Augustine and Peter and Augustine searched the others … When I went into the living room I remember Alex was sitting next to the Christmas tree on the floor reading a comic. Before the boys finally went into the kitchen I told Augustine that they must stay there while Augustine and I collected the gold. I told Augustine that I would make him count the gold that evening. I shut the door adjoining the kitchen and the living room and Augustine, David and I went into the backyard. The kitchen door in the backyard was also closed. I told Augustine that while he was counting the gold that would be the time to catch Ngo and Leong. At that point Augustine should call the people in the kitchen to come out and help us. Augustine, David and I were discussing what to do and David and I reminded him that this was just a robbery and nothing else. Augustine said he knew everything and to trust him. Augustine had promised before that night that I would help him in this robbery only if nothing happened to Ngo and Leong. He had assured me that no harm would come to them. The discussion was interrupted when sounds of cars were heard. Augustine had told David to hide behind the chicks in the backyard. It was hung up directly behind the table on which the fish tanks had been placed. When the sound of cars was heard David went behind the chicks.

  Augustine and I walked to the front gate. We saw Ngo and Leong removing the gold from their car and placing the bars on the ground. The Volkswagen was parked at the end of the road.

  Augustine and I carried the bags containing the gold into the backyard. We each made three journeys. Augustine started to load the bags into the yellow cupboard. As he put the last bag in I said to Augustine: ‘Count the gold.’ He took the bag from the cupboard and placed it on the floor. Ngo and Leong were bending down. They looked as if they were going to help count the bars.

  Augustine stood up and kicked Ngo twice in the groin. I put my left hand over Leong’s mouth to prevent him from shouting. With my left hand I pulled him down … I placed my right hand across his chest … David came from behind the chicks, and he did the same to Ngo. I saw Augustine punching Ngo a few times. David and I were in a sitting position behind Ngo and Leong. Augustine was holding on to Ngo’s waist, clinging on to him. Ngo was on the floor. Augustine got up and opened the kitchen door and the boys came out and helped us. When they had taken over I went to the house to check if the family had been aroused, but they were still asleep. I put my ear to the bedroom door, which was shut, and I listened for sounds. I was satisfied they were still asleep. I returned to the backyard. Before going into the house I had seen Augustine walking on the path on the side of the house. I also saw David and some of the boys tying up Ngo and Leong. On my way from the living room through the kitchen to the backyard I heard a knocking noise. In the backyard I saw Augustine kneeling beside the third victim. He was holding a round chopping block and was hitting this man’s head with it. They were on the path. I told Augustine to stop it, but he kept on hitting the man on the head. I stretched my right hand over the man’s head. Augustine brought the chopping block down on my hand. It hurt very badly. I was very angry and I punched Augustine in the mouth and he fell backwards … Then people came and tied up the third man. While Augustine was knocking the man on the head two or three others were trying to hold the man down. After they’d tied up this man I went back into the house again to once more check the bedrooms. Somebody told Alex to get the Cortina. He went off through the back gate. He should have returned with the car after a few seconds. When he didn’t I decided to bring the Volkswagen to the back. I found the ignition key still there. I started the engine and was about to drive off when I saw a car turning into Chepstow Close at the bottom of the road. I knew it would be my neighbours returning home. I switched off the engine. My neighbours drove past me very slowly.

  “I went back-to our backyard and told the people there that the neighbours were back. By the time Augustine had told them to line up, Mrs Ng had already approached the back door of her house. David greeted her. She was joined by her husband a few minutes later. They went into their house. I was afraid they might be suspicious seeing a group of people in the backyard in the dark, doing nothing, so I took up an empty bottle, before they entered their house, and I said loudly so that they could hear, Something like ‘You brought the wrong thing. I have to speak to my captain about it.’ This was merely to make my neighbours believe we were just having a conversation.

  Soon as they had gone I ran through the front gate, got into the Volkswagen and drove it to the back road, to my back gate. I went back to the backyard and the others started to carry the three tied men to the Volkswagen. I saw the first man’s legs kicking. He was placed in a sitting position in the car. All three were placed in the same position on the rear seat. My hand was hurting very badly and I went to the living room and lay down on the sofa. Alex drove the Volkswagen. Augustine came into the living room and picked up the telephone. When I asked him who he was calling he waved to me to be quiet. He dialled a number and said: ‘This is Augustine. I have the gold. I’m coming down now.’ Shortly afterwards I saw Augustine and David loading the bags of gold into the white Mercedes. Augustine drove off. I waited until about 2:30 am before calling Mrs Ngo to ask her where her husband was. We spoke in Hokkien. She doesn’t speak Hokkien well. She said he was gone. I tried to tell her that he had not appeared at my house. I think she got annoyed because we could not understand each other. She hung up the phone. I then called my flight crew at the Hyatt Hotel and asked if he had seen Ngo. He said he had seen him earlier that evening but not since.”

  Andrew then went on to relate from the witness box Mrs Ngo’s visit. He told her that Ngo had not turned up. He went off to work at 6:16 am. He came back home between 10:30 and 11:00 pm.

  Andrew said that when the police called at his house on the evening of 30 December, he told them he had been expecting Ngo but he did not turn up. He was shocked to learn from the police that Ngo and Leong had been found murdered.

  David also gave evidence on oath. He said the first time he heard about Andrew’s gold transactions was in October after the loss of a big sum of money. David said he helped Andrew and Augustine trace the money. During this period he met Ngo and others.

  On Hari Raya Puasa, Ang came to the house and invited him to go for a joy ride to Changi. In the house were Ringo Lee, Peter Lim, Alex Yau, Stephen Lee, his cousin, Bobby and three Chinese girls. They went in three cars to a coffee stall in Changi. Everyone except Stephen Lee, Bobby and the three girls got down. At the table he was introduced to Fernando Lee and Anchor, but did not talk to them. They all left for home at 10:15 pm. Next day, Ang casually told him he had thought of a plan for a robbery. He did not say who he intended to rob. David told Andrew that Augustine could not be serious. Andrew asked David to join them, but David said he was not interested.

  About 9:30 pm on the evening of 23 November, he was home when Augustine and his friends came to see Andrew. He lay down on the sofa while the group talked. He was not paying close attention to what was being said. He heard Ang telling Fernando that he required his men to help them in the robbery. Ang told Fernando Lee that his men were to tie the legs of the men they were to rob. They were also to tie their hands and gag them, and to brin
g them to a place to hide them and later release them. It suddenly dawned on David that his brother and the others were really making plans to commit robbery. “I asked Andrew what they were really trying to do and Andrew replied that he and Augustine and his friends are planning a robbery.” As the group left the living room, he pulled Andrew and Ang to one side and advised them not to get involved in any robbery.

  About the middle of December, around midnight, Andrew telephoned to say he had a punctured tyre. He was stranded but did not know where. Andrew passed the phone to Ang who told him to come to the old Changi Road. Eventually he found Andrew, Augustine and Peter Lim on the main road. They drove to Serangoon Garden Estate where they persuaded a taxi driver to lend them a spare tyre. They all returned to the abandoned car. Then they all drove to a small lane off Bencoolen Street.

  David said: “On 29 December I returned home from work about 5:00 pm. Augustine arrived at the house about 9:30 pm. Peter was already there. They left and returned about 11:30 pm. Augustine whispered to me that the robbery was on. I was very unhappy at hearing that. I told him I was upset and unhappy. At that moment Andrew came home from work. He went straight to the telephone. Then he went to his bedroom and I took Augustine into the kitchen to try to persuade him to call the whole thing off. Andrew came into the kitchen and in the backyard put pieces of cloth and rope, with which he said the men were to be tied up and gagged, under the food cover on the dining table. I again asked Andrew not to get involved. What if Mother should wake up? She would faint from shock if she saw the robbery in our home. But Augustine and Andrew seemed adamant. They were determined to carry out the robbery. I was confused, still unhappy and upset. Andrew told me that all I had to do was to help Augustine to catch one man. I did not have to be involved in the robbery...”