Murder charge for two men in separate cases

A man was charged yesterday with the murder of an unemployed man at a Chinese temple in Teck Whye Lane.

Loh Suan Lit, 47, is accused of killing Mr Tan Poh Huat, 53, at Chin Long Kong Temple between 2.30am and 3.30am on Feb 14. Mr Tan was found lying motionless behind the temple, where he usually slept.

A 2m-long trail of blood was seen outside the prayer hall.

The divorced father of three had been living in the temple for five years. He was found with a head injury, and was pronounced dead by paramedics at around 7am.

Mr Tan was reportedly a runner for a bookmaker and had $10,000 on him at the time of his death.

Loh was arrested by police on Wednesday, and is being held for a week for further investigations. He will appear again in court on Friday next week. He faces the death penalty if convicted of murder.

In a separate case, part-time coffee shop worker Khor Tzoong Meng, 50, was charged yesterday with the murder of a customer at the void deck of a block of flats in Hougang.

No plea was taken from Khor, who allegedly caused the death of logistics worker Ang Kim Keat, 37, at the void deck of Block 23, Hougang Avenue 3, between 2.09am and 2.11am on Thursday.

Mr Ang was found injured at the scene and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died at 3.28am. Khor was arrested later that morning, near Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

Lawyers Josephus Tan and Tan Jin Song, from Fortis Law Corp, are acting pro bono for Khor. He, too, faces the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.

Khor has been remanded for further investigations until Friday next week, when he will appear in court again.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 27, 2016.
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