Boon Tat street death: Man, 69, charged with murder
A 69-year-old man was charged with murder for a stabbing incident at Boon Tat street on Monday afternoon (10 July) which shocked the lunchtime crowd in the area.
Tan Nam Seng was charged with one count of murder on Wednesday (12 July) in the State Courts after he allegedly stabbed 38-year-old Spencer Tuppani Shamlal Tuppani with the intent to cause his death.
Tan appeared in court dressed in a red polo shirt.
The incident allegedly occurred on Monday at about 1.22pm at 121 Telok Ayer street. Tuppani was found in a pool of blood outside eatery A Poke Theory on 27 Boon Tat Street.
A waiter at A Poke Theory told Yahoo News Singapore that Tan pushed away staff trying to help Tuppani and told them, “He’s my son-in-law. Don’t help him, let him die.”
Tuppani was conveyed unconscious to Singapore General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 2.31pm.
Tan will be remanded until he next appears in court on 19 July. He will go for psychiatric evaluation after his next court appearance.
Tan’s lawyer Andy Chiok told the court that Tan has chronic medical conditions and that his family was concerned about him.
If convicted of murder, Tan faces the death penalty.
In a statement sent to the media, the wife of the deceased, Tan Cheng Cheng, 43, called the incident a ‘double tragedy’ and requested for privacy from the media.
The 43-year-old, who is also the daughter of Tan, said, “This is a double tragedy for the family. I hope the media will stop the narrative and let the police conduct its investigations.
“We cannot say anything to you now. Please respect our privacy and do not stay outside our home. Our family has lost a loved one and my beloved father is facing a serious charge. You cannot imagine our immense grief but please try to understand and let us have some peace.”
Staff at eatery traumatised
Meanwhile, A Poke Theory posted a note on its Facebook page on Tuesday saying that the incident was ‘shocking and traumatising’ for some of its staff. “It has been a shocking and traumatising one for our team members, and we are making arrangements for parts of the team who were witnesses, to take some time off to recover from the incident,” read the statement.
It added, “We would also greatly appreciate it if no questions about the incident are directed to our staff, so as to allow them some mental space to overcome what is a traumatising and scarring incident for many.”
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