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He stabbed man fatally over "staring" incident

JULY 27, 2004

He stabbed man fatally over 'staring' incident

Assailant had chased down his victim with a beer bottle and knife. He is given 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane

By Elena Chong

WHAT began as a 'staring' incident at a People's Park Complex provision shop ended with Mr Chan Shin Shoong being stabbed four times in the neck and shoulder.

At about 11.30pm on Oct 24 last year, the 23-year-old was buying a drink in the shop when he collided with Chaw Aiang Wah, who was talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone.

The men, both Malaysians working here as kitchen assistants, faced off for a moment.

Soon after that, Chaw, 27, was in the lift lobby, about to go up to the flat he shared with his girlfriend.

But Mr Chan, still around with a friend, called him over and demanded to know why Chaw stared at him earlier.

Chaw tried to say it was a small matter not worth fighting over, especially as both of them were on work permits.

Mr Chan would not be mollified.

Then his friend, Mr Ho Yuen Weng, spotted the handle of a knife in the plastic bag Chaw was carrying. He urged Mr Chan to leave.

But as the two friends were walking away, Chaw asked if they had no guts. Mr Chan walked over again.

This time, Chaw pulled a knife as well as a small bottle of beer from his bag, then chased Mr Chan along Park Crescent towards Eu Tong Sen Street. It was a tragically brief pursuit.

A horrified Mr Ho, 20m away, saw Chaw crouching over and plunging his knife into Mr Chan's neck a number of times. He saw his friend try to ward off the blows with his hands.

By yelling 'Mata lai liao' (Hokkien for 'the police have come') Mr Ho frightened Chaw away. But Mr Chan died from his neck wounds two days later.

On Oct 28, Chaw - who had fled to Johor Baru and had been warded for leg injuries - gave himself up.

Yesterday, Judicial Commissioner V.K. Rajah sentenced him to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for culpable homicide.

His assigned lawyer, Mr Cheong Aik Chye, had said Chaw felt belittled and inflamed by Mr Chan's taunts and vulgar language over a small incident. Chaw was neither violent nor vicious, but had acted in a rage, he said.

However, the judge agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor'ashikin Samdin, who asked for a strong message that such outbursts of violence would not be tolerated.

Chaw's actions, she added, were excessive and needlessly brutal. Having felled Mr Chan with a blow to his head using a beer bottle, he had then stabbed his victim four times in the neck and shoulder region.

Said Judicial Commissioner Rajah: 'The deceased had taken flight despite his initial aggression.
Inexplicably and most unfortunately, you deliberately chose to run into trouble and court tragedy.'

Calling staring incidents 'usually the consequence of a heady brew' that included drink, drugs and 'face', he warned those involved to expect the law, in turn, to be 'staring back'.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

posted by Marcus Ang @ 8:19 AM