Blood Lust

by Alex Josey

  Inspector Oh said Andrew and David Chou were arrested on suspicion of murder on 31 December. He said Fernando Lee was never placed under arrest, but was taken to the CID on 4 January 1972 to make a statement. He agreed that Fernando and Ringo Lee were brothers.

  Cross-examined by Mr Leo Fernando for Alex Yau, Inspector Oh agreed that Alex was one of the persons he had in mind as ‘a candidate for the coveted position of being a prosecution witness’.

  Mr Fernando: Augustine Ang was eventually chosen because he was the best speaker?

  Inspector Oh: Yes. In my opinion he was.

  The inspector said that the choice was made by Mr K.S. Rajah, who was then Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor. Inspector Oh also agreed with Mr John Tan Chor Yong (for Ringo Lee and Stephen Lee) that Stephen Lee had also been taken to see Mr Rajah for the purpose of selecting a prosecution witness.

  Mr Tan: Is it not correct that you thought Stephen Lee, being young, might not be able to withstand the cross-examination of all the defence counsel?

  Inspector Oh: That was one of the grounds.

  Mr Tan: In respect of Alex, is it not correct that he was not chosen because he did not know as much as Augustine in the matter?

  Inspector Oh: Yes.

  In his defence Andrew Chou said that Augustine Ang persuaded him to agree to the plot to rob the victims of their gold. He at first refused but finally agreed after Ang pestered him. Andrew said they were close and intimate friends. It was to be a robbery, nothing more. Ngo was to be detained until the gold was sold. Then he was to be offered part of the proceeds. There was to be no violence. He told the Solicitor-General under cross-examination that he allowed Augustine Ang to mastermind the robbery because he trusted him. Andrew said another reason was that he himself had never before taken part in a robbery, and he did not know ‘how gangsters or robbers would carry out a robbery’.

  Mr Ghows: You did not make any arrangements to hide the victims, or to provide food for them, because they were to be killed?

  Andrew Chou: That is not true. Augustine said all would be arranged. I trusted him.

  Called as a witness for the defence, Jessie Chou (27 years old), sister of the two brothers, said she did not notice anything amiss when she returned from church on the night her brothers and others attacked three persons in the compound. Miss Chou said she was a confidential secretary. She said she came home by 10:30 pm. Their mother was sleeping. She went to bed 15 minutes later.

  “I did not notice anything out of the way that evening or that night. The next morning I got up at 6:15 am as usual. Andrew had already left for work in my car.”

  Andrew spent four days in the witness box. When he stepped out, his brother, David stepped in. David said he became an unwilling accomplice in a robbery plot after he had failed to persuade his brother from going through with it. “I had no choice at that time. I agreed to catch only one man.”

  Mr Ghows: Wouldn’t the simplest thing for you to do, to stop the robbery, be to call your mother to come and sit in the living room without having to tell her anything at all?

  David Chou: It would be a risk because I did not know when the robbery would take place.

  Justice Chua: Here you are, afraid to wake up your mother but not afraid to join in the robbery!

  Seven of the nine accused made their defence from the dock. They were Peter Lim, Alex Yau, Ringo Lee, Richard James, Stephen Lee, Stephen Francis and Konesekaram. Stephen Lee said that Augustine Ang gave him money for himself and five others after the killings and told him to keep his mouth shut. They all denied taking part in the murders. Stephen Lee said the affair was a nightmare to him and he was very frightened. He did not sleep that night.

  Mr Wong addressed the Court to plead for Andrew Chou. He said the three men might well be alive but for Augustine Ang, the mastermind behind the plot to rob them. He urged the Court to remember that Augustine was an accomplice and that his evidence should be treated with great caution. He submitted that Ang’s evidence was a complete fabrication tailored with the devilish intention to implicate all the other accused and to show Andrew as the mastermind of a plan to kill and rob the victims of their gold. “It is clear that Augustine was the central figure in the tragedy and if not for him the victims may be alive today. Augustine has told so many lies that the Court should treat his testimony as unworthy of credit.”

  Mr Wong argued that Ang had kept and sold the gold with all the confidence of ownership. “Augustine accepted the price and manner of payment without consulting Andrew who appeared to have no say in the sale of the gold. If Andrew was the mastermind he would have displayed a greater interest in getting the proper persons for the job. He did not even know Ringo Lee, James, Francis and Konesekaram until the night of 29 December. It was Augustine who talked to all of them and Andrew had no knowledge of what he might have told them. These boys were never engaged by or instructed by Andrew. They were engaged by Augustine and were acting strictly on his orders. Andrew never instructed anyone that the men were to be killed and if Augustine had instructed the boys to do this Andrew would have had no knowledge of this.”

  Counsel submitted that it was incumbent on the prosecution to prove that Andrew had the actual intention to cause death and not merely show that death had been caused. The prosecution must also prove that Andrew was, at the time when death was caused, a member of the unlawful assembly whose common object was to cause the deaths of the three persons. Mr Wong said nobody was in a position to say if the three were in fact dead when they were taken away from the house. “There is doubt on this,” Counsel said the evidence that they were tied and gagged was a clear indication that the victims were alive. “It is possible that death might have been caused accidentally while they were being moved to the place of disposal.” The ropes with which they were tied might have constricted their necks in the process of movement. Andrew said that the robbery was not to involve violence but the fact was that there was some violence and it was beyond him to stop it. Andrew made a clean breast about his part in the robbery. But this was a far cry from murder. He had exclaimed in surprise when told by the police that Ngo and his colleagues had been killed. There was no evidence that Andrew had faked surprise.

  Mr Giam argued that it was clear that Augustine was the mastermind and that he arranged the whole episode. Mr Gopalan followed the same line of reasoning. Mr Fernando said that the prosecution’s ‘star witness’, Augustine Ang, ‘is clearly an accomplice of the worst type’. Apart from being an accomplice ‘in the most despicable manner’, Ang was also a witness who had the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. His evidence should thus be regarded as tainted and approached with suspicion and extreme caution. Mr Tan contended that on the evidence, Ringo Lee and Stephen Lee were never part of the unlawful assembly. They played the part of the undertakers. “Even if they knew that their job was to take away dead bodies that did not mean they shared the common object to kill someone.” Counsel also submitted that even if it were true that Ringo Lee and Stephen Lee had pulled a rope around the neck of a motionless victim, it could not be deemed murder if their victim was already dead. Mr Goho argued: “If you are going to have people killed in your backyard for some animosity or vengeance, you must give directions to those doing the job as to how it should be done. The fact that my clients were not told about any such plan only indicates that they were never told to kill at all.”

  The Solicitor-General had the final word at the trial. He named Andrew Chou as the ‘prime mover’ of the conspiracy to rob and kill the three men. David Chou was in charge of operations and Augustine Ang was Andrew’s errand boy. “David said that his greatest fear was that his mother might wake up and see what was happening at their house that night so he had no choice but to join in the attack to expedite removal of the victims from the house. That is the lamest of excuses I have heard in my 20 years’ experience in Court. All he needed was to wake up his mother and ask her to sit out with them and Andrew would never have dared to commit the robbery. Andrew�
�s and David’s story about a plot to rob the victims and confine them for a while and later release them after giving Ngo back some of his own gold is so stupid that I don’t know why they even bothered to tell us.”

  Mr Ghows said that unfortunately for the conspirators the five recruits they got were of the ‘irresponsible type and they threw the bodies in a bush, not into a well as they were supposed to. If they had been more responsible people even now the police would still be looking for Ngo and his friends.’ All the accused, he contended, knew of the conspiracy to kill. “When all these boys rushed out of the kitchen that night the bodies were still alive and so they joined in the killing so that they would have some bodies to bury for $8,000.”

  Of Stephen Lee, Mr Ghows said that he ‘joined in knowing very well that men were going to be buried after the killing’. He said that Alex Yau claimed to be the most innocent of the whole lot as he only drove the car. “But even if Alex did not think he had been approached to take part in the killing, when he rushed out of the kitchen that night with the others he joined the rest of them in the common object of killing even if it was not his hand that delivered the fatal blows.” There was no charge of conspiracy against all the accused, ‘but we contend that when the melee started in the backyard and they all came rushing out of the kitchen, they joined in the common object and adopted it by helping to tie and gag the victims. There is no doubt that everybody knew there was going to be a killing.’

  Mr Ghows said that of course there were discrepancies in Augustine’s story. “This was only natural as the witness was trying to recollect what happened a year ago. He had been cross-examined in the witness box for 33 hours and I took nearly seven hours and 55 minutes in examining him. If, after 33 hours of cross-examination there were no discrepancies and contradictions, it would have been a miracle. In my submission, Augustine has told the truth in Court and he told the truth as soon as he was arrested. Even if some parts of his evidence lack corroboration it should be accepted. Accordingly all nine accused should be found guilty as charged.”

  The Court adjourned on Friday, 1 December 1972. On Monday, 4 December, the two Judges returned their verdict. Seven of the nine were sentenced to death. The two youths jointly convicted with them escaped the capital penalty because they were under the age of 18 when the murders were committed. Ringo Lee Chiew Chwee and Stephen Lee Hock Khoon, living at different addresses in Bencoolen Street, were ordered to be detained at the President’s pleasure. Sentenced to death were the Chou brothers, Andrew and David. This was the first time two brothers were sentenced to death by a Singapore Court. The other five sentenced to die with them were: Peter lim Swee Guan (24 years old) of Toa Payoh, a despatch clerk; Alex Yau Hean Thye (20 years old) of Middle Road, a student in a vocational institution doing a general welding course; Richard James (19 years old) of Toa Payoh; Stephen Francis (21 years old) of Toa Payoh, and Konesekaram Nagalingam (19 years old) of Bedok Road.

  The following day, they all gave notice of appeal against conviction and sentence.

  The Judges’ Decision

  The Grounds of Judgement were handed down by Justice Chua and Justice Choor Singh, on 5 July 1973. This document is a report of the Court proceedings and the observations of the Judges on the evidence. First they dealt with the discovery of the bodies.

  There was a long piece of green cord wound twice round the neck of Leong Chin Woo and the ends of the cord went down to the wrists. The mouth of Ngo Cheng Poh was gagged by a piece of towel tied across the mouth, ended with a dead knot behind. There was a piece of torn cloth across the neck not tied, and on top of it was a green cord wound round the neck several times but not tied. Both his ankles were tied together with black thin wire in many rounds. The body of Ang Boon Chai was found in a pond, three pieces of green cord lying loosely on the body.

  Goh Cheng Hong, wife of Ngo, reported him missing at the Joo Chiat Police Station at about 10:30 am on the morning of 30 December 1971. She reported that her husband and his two employees had left her house in two cars at 11:30 pm the previous night after telling her that they were going to Paya Lebar, and her husband had not returned.

  After finding the bodies, the police interviewed her at 6:15 pm. Mdm Goh said that her husband was one of two partners in Kwee Guan and Co. of Pekin Street, importers and exporters. He had been dealing in gold bars in a small way for about two years before his death. He would buy gold bars from the United Overseas Bank and export them to Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Saigon. He used to export the gold bars through Andrew Chou. She had been with her husband and Leong Chin Woo to Chou’s house to deliver gold bars. Sometimes Leong and Ang would deliver the bars.

  On 29 December, at about 9:00 pm, Leong and Ang came to her house. At about 11:25 pm, Andrew Chou rang up and spoke to her husband. Shortly afterwards, Ngo left the house with Leong and Ang, taking with him 120 gold bars in six canvas bags. Ngo put them into his Mercedes (SY 6407) and drove off with Ang. Leong followed in his car, a Volkswagen. She waited at home. At about 2:30 am, Andrew Chou telephoned and asked for her husband. She told him that he had left with Leong at about 11:30 pm after getting his telephone call. Mdm Goh understood from Chou that her husband had not been at his house. She waited until 5:00 am, and when her husband did not return, dressed and drove to Chou’s house to look for him. She arrived just after 6:00 am. Andrew Chou came out as she was about to step into the house. She asked about her husband and he said he did not know where Ngo was. She noticed his bandaged right hand. He said he had injured it working at the airport. She left to look for her husband, but with no success. At 10:15 am, she reported him missing.

  At about 10:30 pm that evening, a police party led by Inspector Oh Chye Bee, the investigating officer, went to the Chous’ house. Andrew said he did not know where Ngo was and when told that Ngo and the two others had been found dead, he exclaimed ‘Jesus’. DSP Teoh Beng San noticed that Andrew’s right hand was swollen, and that there were scratches on the bare body of David. When questioned, Andrew said that he and his brother had been sparring with each other. He said he was a blue belt taekwondo and that David was a brown belt in karate. The police arrested them at 1:00 am on 31 December. Later in the morning, the Mercedes and the Volks-wagen were found abandoned.

  At 4:00 am in the morning of 2 January 1972, Andrew led the police to the home of Augustine Ang. He led them to Peter Lim who took them to 4a Worcester Road, the flat of Peter Lim’s aunt, Catherine Tay. Peter pointed to a tin on a ledge. In it the police found 15 gold bars. In the ceiling they found 90 gold bars. They went back to the flat again at 9:30 am and Mrs Tay handed them a pillow in which $29,000 in cash were found. Two and a half hours later, David took the police to his office (Bayer Singapore Ltd.), where he was employed as assistant manager (technical) and opened a locked drawer. Inside, the police recovered five gold bars.

  The following day, Stephen Lee took the police to his house and gave them $1,750 in cash. The same day, Peter Lim gave them $1,800.

  The main witness for the prosecution was Augustine Ang. His evidence was shortly to this effect. Before 1965, he was working with Central Commodity Services Ltd. and came to know Andrew Chou who was working there. In 1965 or 1966, he went to work for Hagemeyer Trading Co. and there he met David who was working in the same office. He often visited 19 Chepstow Close. Andrew went to work with Air Vietnam as an air cargo officer. He once told him that he was sending gold bars to the airport. In October 1971, Andrew told him he had lost about $70,000. After this incident, Andrew asked him to escort him to the airport whenever he took gold bars because he feared he might be robbed. David and Peter Lim also escorted Andrew. Augustine and Peter were paid $50 each time by Andrew.

  Early in November 1971, Andrew, David, Peter and he planned to attack and kill the person or persons bringing gold bars to the Chous’ house (with the assistance of some men to be recruited by Peter), and take the gold.

  In the Chous’ house (while the Chou brothers were not in) Ang told the five recruited men bri
efly what they were to do. “I told them about two or three persons would come to Andrew’s house and they must be brought down. By ‘brought down’ I mean ‘kill them’. I told them it must be done clean and quiet, and the bodies must be buried and they would be paid $20,000 for the job. I also told them that I would arrange for the Chou brothers to meet them that night. Then they left.”

  They all came back to the Chous’ house later that evening and in three cars went to Changi Point. At a coffee stall, David did most of the talking. He explained that his brother had some business trouble; that two or three men were coming to his house and that these men had to be brought down; that it must be done clean and quiet and the bodies must be buried.

  A few days later, in the Chous’ house with Peter, the brothers asked him to get a new group of ‘boys’ and to get a buyer for the gold bars. Peter said he would get the boys and also ask his aunt to get a buyer for the gold bars. He would speak to her about keeping the gold bars in her house.

  ***

  One night, he and Peter went to 4a Worcester Road where he told Mrs Tay she would be paid a commission if she could find a buyer for the gold. Later, Tay told him she had found a buyer; the buyer wanted to see a sample. Andrew gave Augustine a piece of gold bar, and with Peter, he took it to her. Tay then took them to a shop in North Bridge Road to see the buyer, Tan Kay Hwa. He examined it and said that the gold was worth between $3,000 to $4,000 per kilogram.

  One day, Peter rang him up at his office to tell him that he had found a new group of boys, one Chinese and three Indians. Augustine met them and told them that they were to kill two or three men and get rid of their bodies, for which they would be paid $20,000. One of the Indian boys said he knew of a place somewhere in Changi where the bodies could be thrown into a deep well.