Orchard Towers death: Chan Jia Xing given conditional warning

SINGAPORE — A man initially accused of the murder of another man at Orchard Towers last year received a conditional warning on Thursday (15 October).

Chan Jia Xing, 27, was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the State Courts.

This means that Chan will no longer be facing the charge of consorting with a co-accused who had in his possession a foldable Kerambit knife, provided that he refrain from criminal conduct for a year.

If he reoffends at any time within a year, he may face prosecution for this charge as well as the fresh offence.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Chan said he was grateful to his lawyers Cory Wong, Shane Yeo and Josephus Tan from Invictus Law.

When he was first charged, Chan, who is expecting a baby boy soon, recalled that his parents encouraged him to remain strong and “don’t do stupid things”.

Asked if he could remain crime free for a year, Chan said he “definitely will, for the rest of my life”.

In a statement to the media, Tan said, “We are grateful to the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) for coming to the right decision to withdraw the charge against our client after our representations. It’s been an arduous journey for him. He is now happily looking forward to the birth of his firstborn next month instead of having to serve time in prison for this very unfortunate tragedy.”

Chan had been part of a group accused of causing the death of 31-year-old Satheesh Noel Gobidass at around 6.25am on 2 July last year at the entrance of Orchard Towers. This group consisted of Tan Sen Yang, Joel Tan Yun Sheng, Ang Da Yuan, Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, Loo Boon Chong and Tan Hong Sheng. Siow was jailed for five months for her role last Friday.

He was initially charged with murder while part of an unlawful assembly intending to cause hurt to Satheesh. He was part of the seven charged in court a day after the incident.

Chan’s murder charge was later withdrawn and replaced with a charge of consorting with Tan Sen Yang, who had in his possession a foldable Kerambit knife.

Of the group, Tan Sen Yang, Tan Hong Sheng and Loo Boon Chong have not been dealt with. The rest have been jailed for their roles in the incident.

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