Blood Lust Read online

  David was hiding behind the chicks when he heard footsteps.

  Later he heard Andrew saying: ‘Ang, count the gold.’ “The next thing I heard were scuffling sounds and a groan, a deep low groan. I heard Augustine’s voice. He called: ‘David! Quick help me!’ I ran from behind the chicks ... I saw a big man in a crouching position with both his hands over his groin. I grabbed this man with both arms round his arms and chest. Augustine held on to his legs. The next moment I fell into a kneeling position, still holding the man’s arms and chest. I saw Andrew with one hand over another man’s mouth, the other arm around his chest. The man I had caught groaned. I was worried that my children might be awakened, and so I put both my hands over the man’s mouth. At the same time Augustine punched him in the abdomen. Then he pushed open the kitchen door and he told me to let go, that his men would take over … I went to the back gate to see if there were any passers-by. On my way back to the living room, I saw the big man with his legs tied together, and hands tied together behind his back. He was gagged with a piece of cloth … The smaller man was tied in a different way. Both his hands were tied behind his back and the same piece of rope was tied round his ankles. He was gagged with a piece of cloth. I went straight into my bedroom to check that my children were asleep. I opened the door and found them asleep. I opened the door of my mother’s bedroom and found that she was asleep. My sister was also asleep. I went to the front windows of the living room facing the front gate to see if there were any observers. I opened the front door and went into the porch. I heard some scuffling noise. I turned around to my left and saw a man lying on his back with someone sitting on his chest and someone else holding his legs. Augustine was kneeling behind the man’s head. I saw Augustine raise an object with both hands over his head and bring it down on the head of the man being held. Augustine hit him several times. I was going to stop him, when Andrew punched Augustine in the face, knocking him backwards. The man on the ground was tied up and gagged. I saw Andrew running to the front gate. He came back soon afterwards saying that the neighbours were back. I went to the fence and greeted them. When they went into their house Andrew ran out of the front gate and brought the Volkswagen to our back gate. I saw two men carried to the Volkswagen, where they were placed in an almost sitting position, half lying on their backs … before I shut the door I looked at the three men individually. All three were breathing heavily, and I heard groaning sounds. The Volkswagen was driven off by Alex. The rest of the men got into the white Cortina. In the living room Augustine was making a phone call. I went to see if my children were alright. Andrew laid himself down on the sofa. I then went back to the backyard to shut the back gate. Augustine brought round the white Mercedes and I helped him to put the bags of gold bars into the car. They were very heavy. Augustine drove away. I shut the back gate and went into the living room.”

  The next morning, David said in his evidence, he went to the backyard to feed his fishes and to hang up his bird cages. He saw a little bundle in the drain. He thought it must be gold that had fallen out the previous night. He put it into the car without opening it. He tried to contact Augustine by telephone, but without success. So, when he went to work he carried the bundle to the office and put it in a drawer of his desk. Again he tried to contact Augustine, and in the end left a message asking him to come and collect a little bundle he had picked up at the house. Ang never called back.

  David said he reached home between 5:00–6:00 pm. Andrew was asleep. He woke him up and told him about the bundle he had found. “It was stolen property. I wanted nothing to do with the robbery … I was also anxious to find out from Augustine where the three men were being kept, and when they would be released.”

  Peter Lim elected to make a statement from the dock. He denied taking part in any assault on the men. Augustine had told him that the plan was to rob some gold merchants. His job would be to keep the gold for one day in the car after the robbery, and to leave everything else to him. Augustine said that the gold would be taken out by aeroplane the same night or one day later. The men would be tied and kept in a place for one night. If later they went looking for the Chou brothers, then Augustine would bargain with them. “He told me the police would not be informed because these men were involved in gold smuggling.” Augustine told him not to worry since the men did not know him.

  On the fateful night at the house, he heard the sound of motorcars coming. Then someone pushed the door of the kitchen and they all rushed into the backyard. He saw David holding a fat man with his arm round his chest and his left hand covering the man’s mouth. The man was struggling. Andrew was holding a thin man in a similar position. Peter said he rushed to the back gate and stood there for five minutes before he went to his car and sat in the driver’s seat. He had earlier been told by Augustine to wait in the car, and that when the boys had taken away the three men he was to go back into the kitchen and collect the gold and keep it for a day. Augustine had told him that the men would be kept for one day and then released. Augustine did not say where the men would be kept. Then David asked him to drive the Volkswagen. He refused. Augustine had told him that his job was to take the gold and keep it for a day. David told him to drive the Cortina with the boys and not to waste time. So he drove the Cortina containing Stephen Francis, Ringo, Konese-karam, James and Stephen Lee. He was followed by Alex driving the Volkswagen. He was directed to a road in Changj, then to some reclaimed land until near the Reformative Training Centre when one of the boys asked him to stop. All the persons in the Cortina except himself got out and went to the Volkswagen. Later the five boys got back into the Cortina. Both cars were then driven to Nicoll Drive where Alex left the Volkswagen and got into the Cortina. Peter then drove to the Chous’ house, got into his own car and drove home.

  On 30th December, Peter said, he met Augustine at Mrs Tay’s flat. Augustine went up to the ceiling, saying he kept the gold there. He brought down 20 bars. They went to a shop in North Bridge Road to sell it … That night he was shocked to learn from television news that the three men had died.

  Alex Yau elected to make a statement from the dock. He said he understood his role was merely to drive some ‘senseless or helpless persons’, and to dump them in a secluded spot. He asked Augustine if this was right and he confirmed this. He denied they all went to Changi to find a well. On 29 December Augustine Ang and Peter Lim met him by accident at Beng Swee Place. He said that Andrew had some business trouble, and Augustine asked them to follow him to Andrew’s house ‘to render some help’. Ang asked him to drive a Cortina in which the five boys were already crowded. Ang was in another car with Peter Lim. The two cars were driven to the Chous’ house, where the Chou brothers were waiting. They were ushered into the kitchen and told to wait there. Ang was with them in the kitchen and was then called out. Not long afterwards, said Alex, he heard a commotion in the backyard. He became very frightened and confused and did not even think of peeping out to see what was going on. He assumed there was a fight going on between the Chou brothers and Augustine on one side and the persons who were to be rendered senseless and helpless on the other. Soon the commotion subsided. Then someone pushed open the door and told them to come out. He was still very frightened and confused. He ran through the backyard and out of the back gate. He saw two men on the floor. It was quite dark and he did not know if they were dead. They were motionless.

  Alex said he ran to the Cortina and was about to drive off when Richard James got into the car. He was so confused and frightened that he drove round and round. Then he noticed a Volkswagen with some people round it. Peter Lim was among them and signalled him to stop. Peter asked him to drive the Volkswagen. He saw three human forms in the car, covered by a cloth. Ang told him to follow the Cortina. They drove to some place in Bedok where the three Indian boys and the two others carried the bodies out of the Volkswagen ‘to some place’. Later they went to Tanah Merah Besar where Peter Lim told him to abandon the Volkswagen. Before he did so, Alex said he wiped the inside of the
car with a piece of cloth because there were some red patches which looked like bloodstains. He got some of the blood on his shirt ...

  He could not sleep that night. He was terrified at what had taken place. All that he had expected was that some people were going to be knocked unconscious and hidden away somewhere … that Andrew and David planned some kind of revenge on business rivals by giving them a beating. The next morning, he went to Andrew’s house and Andrew gave him $400. On New Year’s Day, he read in The Straits Times that the three men had been killed. He was arrested the next day.

  From the dock, Alex referred to the cautioned statement he had made to the police. He explained that he had told some ‘wicked lies’ because ‘I was hoping to be selected as a prosecution witness. During the period of interrogation at the CID there were rumours that one of us would be selected as prosecution witness and that this would depend on what statements we made. This motivated me into stating untruths in my cautioned statement. I am deeply sorry for this.’

  Ringo Lee also made a statement from the dock. He lived in Bencoolen Street and usually he spent his time at the playground at Beng Swee Place. Sometimes he played football at St Joseph’s School playground with some of the other accused. He was at Beng Swee Place on 29 December. Ang arrived and said he needed their help as his friend had some business rivalry with someone. They got in the Cortina car and followed Ang to a bungalow he’d never been to before. All six went into the kitchen. The Chou brothers and Ang went into the backyard. He heard sounds of a scuffle in the backyard, of persons falling down, and some groaning. Then all was quiet. Someone opened the kitchen door and said: ‘You can come out now.’ The people in the kitchen rushed out, but he and Stephen Lee remained behind. Stephen grabbed him and asked him what was going on. Ringo said he didn’t know. They went into the backyard and to his surprise saw two persons lying motionless, one on his back, the other on his stomach. He became very frightened. He and Stephen stood there helplessly. Andrew and David ordered them to carry the bodies to the car. He dared not disobey. Then the neighbours came and they all stood round the bodies to hide them so that they could not be seen by the neighbours. Then the bodies were carried to the car. They were motionless. They were driven to a dark place where the three bodies were dumped. He was arrested on 6 January. As regards his statement to the magistrate, Ringo said: “In my confession I stated I pulled the cord round the person’s neck. That is not true at all. I told this to the magistrate under duress. A police officer threatened to torture me if I did not say this.”

  Richard James also elected to make a statement from the dock. Briefly, it was a complete denial of any knowledge of the plot to kill. He said Augustine told him and the others that he wanted some help. His friend was involved in some business rivalry and was looking for some boys to help to assault them. The assault was to take place in his friend’s house. Ang told him he was prepared to pay them and added that he thought he and his friend could handle the matter; Richard and his friends were to assist if requested. “Augustine never told us about killing or getting rid of, or burying anybody. Neither did he say the job must be clean and quiet. None of us told him we had a place in Changi with a deep well to bury them ... I do not know of any such well … Augustine never promised $20,000. He never told us to stand by on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.”

  In the kitchen in the bungalow he heard sounds of choking and gasping. He saw two bodies lying on the cement floor. They made no sound or movement. Near the fence was another body. The man was trying to say something in Chinese and David and Andrew were ‘delivering karate chops on the man’. Richard said he was very frightened at that time. He saw Alex Yau going through the gateway and he followed him to the Cortina. They eventually drove off with the bodies to a dark place where he helped to throw away the three bodies. On the 31st, Stephen Lee gave each of them $1,000. Richard said that the statement he gave to the magistrate was not true. He said he was forced to make it. He never took part in any assault, nor did he tie up anyone or put a rope round anyone. Augustine never spoke of any killing or robbery. If he had done, said Richard, he would not have gone along. He really believed he was going to help to clear up some business rivalry. He never knew that ‘all this nonsense was going to take place’, and he and his friends were never told of ‘the intentions to rob or kill’.

  Stephen Francis made his statement from the dock. It was much the same as Richard James’ statement. He said he saw two bodies lying on the concrete floor and another man near the fence begging for mercy. Andrew was hitting the man on the neck with karate chops. Augustine was hitting the man in the face with a round piece of wood. “After that, there was no sound from that person.” He became very frightened by what he had seen. He realised that the three persons were dead. David told them their job was to throw the bodies at Changi. They were frightened and did what David told them to do. Stephen said that the statement he made to the magistrate was untrue. “The confession is wrong in various aspects. Augustine never told us that we had to bury two bodies. He never told us that we must do the job that day. I also never took part in the assault or the tying up of any person.”

  Konesekaram also made a statement from the dock. It followed the pattern of the others. He completely denied that Augustine had told him about a murder plot. They were to help in assaulting some business rivals for which they would be paid. In the backyard he saw Ang hitting a man with a piece of wood. He saw the other bodies, and he was very frightened and did not know what to do. “They went to a place in Changi where the three bodies were thrown away at three different spots.”

  As regards his statement, he said: “I was taken before a magistrate and asked to make a statement. I did not know what it was for. I was assaulted and forced to see the magistrate. I was not given proper food at the Central Investigation Department (CID). The statement to the magistrate is not true. I do not know what I told the magistrate.” Konesekaram added that if they had known it was Augustine Ang’s intention to rob and kill, he and his friends would not have gone to the Chous’ place at all.

  Stephen Lee also made a statement from the dock. He said he was educated in a Chinese school and he spoke and understood little English. He spoke Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese to members of his family and friends. If ever he spoke English he spoke only one or two words mixed with Chinese. His father owned an electrical shop and he assisted his father in his spare time to sell electrical appliances. On 23 December, he had a stomach ache and was in the toilet for ‘quite some time’ and knew nothing of any demonstration. He could not understand what they were all talking about because they were talking in English. He said that Ang lied when he said that his job was to disconnect the street lamp.

  On the evening of 29 December, he met Ang at Beng Swee Place. Ang told him Andrew had some trouble and wanted Stephen and his friends to go and help. They drove off in three cars. At the bungalow they spoke in English and he did not know what they were talking about. He followed his friends into the kitchen. He heard the sound of a car arriving. Shortly afterwards he heard ‘sounds of people fighting, and some groaning, some people shouting’. Then ‘all became quiet’. He came out of the kitchen. He was very frightened. To his surprise he saw two persons lying in the backyard. He thought they were dead. He thought of running away, but he also thought of the safety of his friends, so he stayed. The bodies were carried into the car. He was told to follow them. He had no choice but to do so. If he had known what was going to happen at Chepstow Close he would not have gone to the place. He could not sleep that night. One or two days later Augustine gave him some money. “He gave me some money so I accepted it.” Augustine told him to keep his mouth shut. “I had to accept his money otherwise he would have become suspicious of me.”

  As regards the cautioned statement he made to Inspector Oh Chye Bee he said that on 6 January about 4:00 pm. he was given some food and drink. The inspector produced a document which was already written. “Before asking me to sign it he said he was going to make
me a prosecution witness. He asked me not to be afraid. So I believed him and signed it. The contents were untrue. As that was the first time I had been in police custody I did not know the significance of a statement, cautioned or uncautioned. That was why I was so easily deceived. Oh Chye Bee has given evidence that I had spoken in English and that he had taken down my statements in writing. This is totally untrue. He said he recorded every word I had uttered. From the statement written in English you can realise what standard of English I have. My English is not as good as that … The statement was already prepared when I signed it. I did not know the contents of the statement. It was written in English and not explained to me. At the time I believed him and now I regret what I have done. I regret I believed him. On 6 January I had not been charged. Inspector Oh

  did not read out the charges to me. Without telling me anything, he asked me to sign. They did not prefer charges then because they promised to make me a prosecution witness. I was charged on 7 January.”

  He added that between March and April that year, Oh came to the Queenstown Remand Prison and asked him to sign a document. He instructed him to backdate it to 6 January. He did not explain the contents to him. “I did not know how to read it, so that was that. I am saying that I was deceived by Oh Chye Bee.”

  The crux of Andrew’s defence was that he did not conspire with Ang and the others to kill Ngo, Leong, and Ang Boon Chai, but that he had actually conspired with Augustine Ang to rob Ngo of the gold. It was agreed no violence should be used. Ngo and the other two were to be overpowered, tied up, taken away and kept in some place and later released. All the necessary arrangements were to be made by Augustine. It was Ang who attacked and assaulted Ngo and Ang Boon Chai. All he did that night was to put his hand over Leong’s mouth to prevent him from shouting out until the boys came out to tie him up. He claimed that the three men were alive when they were taken from the house.