Rag-and-bone man allegedly murdered coffee shop worker in Geylang over staring incident
SINGAPORE — A quarrel between a rag-and-bone man and a coffee shop worker in Geylang in July 2016 resulted in the latter’s death from a stab wound on his arm which completely cut an artery, a court heard.
At the High Court on Tuesday (6 August), 67-year-old Toh Sia Guan claimed trial to a charge of murdering Goh Eng Thiam, who was 52.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” he told the court through a Mandarin interpreter.
Staring incident
On the morning of 9 July 2016, both Toh and Goh went to Victoria Food Court at Lorong 23 Geylang.
Goh bought a drink at about 7.25am and Toh, who was then 64, came by on his bicycle shortly after to buy breakfast. Toh frequented Geylang as he would collect cardboard and cans for a living.
At about 7.40am, according to the prosecution, “The accused perceived that the deceased was staring at him. To diffuse the tension, the accused asked the deceased whether he was selling Chinese medicine.”
Goh then got angry and shouted Hokkien vulgarities at Toh. “The deceased also shouted the equivalent of ‘do I look like a drug peddler?”
The duo then fought for a minute. Goh hit Toh with the latter’s bicycle, while Toh took a wooden stick from a nearby lorry to hit the back of Goh’s head.
They also exchanged blows with their bare hands. Toh lost the fight and ran away without his bicycle. He also lost one of his slippers along the way.
Bought knife
Toh went straight to the Budget Value shop at No. 43 Lorong 25 Geylang to buy a pair of slippers. After paying for the footwear, he went to buy a knife from the same shop and headed back to the coffee shop to confront Goh.
At about 7.55am, Toh rushed towards Goh while the latter went to retrieve the wooden stick Toh had earlier used. CCTV footage which captured part of the fight was played in court.
According to the prosecution, Toh stabbed Goh on the right upper arm, on the left scalp, the left side of the chest, and the left side of the face.
An eyewitness also saw Toh and Goh punching each other while wrestling for control of the knife.
About two minutes after the fight started, Toh left the area with a bloodstained shirt and wearing only one slipper.
Meanwhile, Goh went to pick up his handphone which had he dropped along the road, then sat on the kerb before lying down on the road and resting his head on the kerb.
An eyewitness called the police and an ambulance arrived just before 8.10am. But it was too late. A paramedic found no pulse or electrical activity in Goh’s heart and pronounced him dead on the spot.
A forensic pathologist certified Goh’s cause of death to be from a V-shaped stab wound to the right upper arm, which was about 7cm deep and which cut the right brachial artery completely. A vein was also cut, but not completely.
Evaded cops
After fleeing the scene, Toh removed his shirt and put on another shirt which he took off a clothesline in the area.
He then bought a pair of slippers from an NTUC FairPrice supermarket in Boon Keng Road and then went to Ang Mo Kio, where he slept in gardens and parks in the area. He didn’t return to Geylang.
Toh was arrested on 21 July, 12 days after the incident, at Labrador Park MRT station by police investigators who received information that he had been sighted in the area.
He admitted to police that he had been evading detection by seeking shelter under a bridge near the Bendemeer area.
He was found not to have any mental disorders and was not of unsound mind.
The trial continues.
If Toh is found guilty of the charge of causing bodily injury sufficient in the ordinary cause of nature to cause death, he faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.
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