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Singapore—The seventh person involved in the Orchard Towers murder appeared in court on Thursday, July 18. Twenty-seven-year-old Tan Sen Yang is currently under investigation by the police in the ongoing murder case.
Court documents showed that it was Mr Tan who had been in possession of the Kerambit knife at the time of the incident, which occurred shortly past 6:15 am on July 2.
A Kerambit knife is a small, foldable, curved knife that looks like a claw.
Three of Mr Tan’s other companions have been accused of murder—Ang Da Yuan, age 26, Natalie Siow, age 22, and Joel Tan Yun Sheng, also age 26.
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All four of them face charges of murder with common intention and could receive the death penalty if convicted.
Mr Tan has been sent for psychiatric evaluation, and still has no legal representation in his case, like his co-accused Ang Da Yuan. The others all have representation already.
Mr Tan remained in police custody for one week after July 11, when he and his companions appeared in court.
The murder charge against him was finalised on July 18. His companions who were also charged with murder, Ms Siow, and Messrs Joel Tan and Ang, were also sent to Changi Prison Complex’s medical centre for psychiatric evaluation.
Ms Siow has been ordered to undergo three weeks of psychiatric evaluation at Changi Women’s Prison.
Another woman was at first thought to also have been involved in the case but she has not been charged for any offense.
However, while Mr Tan is not due back in court until August 8, his seven other companions are scheduled to return to court on August 1 for their cases to be mentioned.
The other three accused persons received reduced charges of consorting with a person with an offensive weapon. If Loo Boon Chong, age 25, Chan Jia Xing, age 26, and Tan Hong Sheng, age 22, are found guilty, they could receive six strokes of the cane, as well as a maximum three-year jail sentence.
The victim Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31, was found motionless and lying in his own blood by the police at 6:25 am on July 2. Mr Satheesh was pronounced dead when he was brought to Tock Seng Hospital.
Video footage showed a man walking in front of an escalator and then collapsing, with bystanders coming to his aid.
An order from District Judge Terence Tay decreed that the three men who have had the murder charge withdrawn are not allowed to communicate with the accused, their accomplices, or any of the witnesses of the prosecution.
Two of them, Tan Hong Sheng and Chan Jia Xing were offered bail of S$25,000m, while a bail of S$ 15,000 was accepted for Loo Boon Chong, as his lawyer, Diana Ngiam, told the judge that Mr Loo is not a flight risk and that he had gone to the police of his own volition to assist in the investigations. Furthermore, one of his parents posted bail.
It is believed that Mr Tan is involved in other offenses. -/TISG
Read related: Orchard Towers killing: Murder charges withdrawn for 3 out of the 7 accused
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