SINGAPORE: Some 35 years after fleeing Singapore following a fatal riot involving his gang, a former headman of a secret society returned to Singapore to surrender for medical reasons.
Lee Koh Yong, 65, was sentenced to three years’ jail on Wednesday (Nov 22) for one count of rioting.
The court heard that Lee was 30 at the time of the riot in 1988, and the headman of a triad society.
The fight was sparked by an argument between two groups at a chalet near East Coast Park in August 1988.
On Sep 3, 1988, Lee was asked by a gang member to head down to a discotheque around Stadium Road as they had spotted members of a rival gang.
Lee wanted to head down to help fight and called others to join him before he proceeded to the location with three others in a van.
When they got to Stadium Road, Lee’s group formed a plan to attack the rival gang members when they left the disco.
At around the same time, the 17-year-old victim arrived at the location in a taxi with two friends, intending to meet a friend at the disco.
As they were walking, the victim’s friend recognised Lee’s gang member from the argument in August.
The victim’s friend told the victim about this and they decided to turn around and walk away.
However, Lee’s gang went to confront the victim and his friend, as they had recognised them.
Several gang members began attacking the victim and his friend, who was 16. Some of the attackers used wooden sticks and poles from nearby construction works in their assault.
As the attack was taking place, Lee stood a short distance away, observing. He did not personally inflict violence on the victims as he felt his group was already winning.
The attack lasted three to four minutes, with the victim and his friend being knocked unconscious.
The gang then fled.
A passer-by called the police, who found the victim lying unconscious on the pavement. The victim’s friend had woken up and left the scene in a taxi earlier.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy found that he had died of a contused brain due to a fractured skull.
Later that day, Lee found out that the victim had died. He decided to go into hiding in Malaysia and went to Johor Bahru with three others.
Lee remained in Malaysia for more than 30 years, until returning to Singapore on Mar 17.
His intention in returning to surrender was to get a medical check-up, as he was not able to visit a doctor overseas, the court heard.
Several of Lee’s then-gang members have been sentenced to jail over the fatal incident.
The prosecution called for three years’ jail for Lee, with another three months in lieu of caning as Lee is above 50 and cannot be caned.
She said Lee had chosen to run away and returned only after living out his life.
Defence lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong of Invictus Law asked for three years’ jail with no additional jail term in lieu of caning.
Mr Tan said it was not a case where Lee strategically waited until he turned 50 to surrender himself in order to avoid caning.
This was “never a consideration operating in his mind”, said the lawyer.
In fact, Lee said he could have simply not chosen to return to Singapore, with his family being Malaysians to begin with.
Mr Tan said his client chose to do “the right thing” to face the music, and was hoping to receive medical treatment in Singapore for his deteriorating health.
The lawyer quoted Lee’s daughter, who said her father was suffering from cataracts, gout, cardiovascular disease and frequently has blood in his stools.
Mr Tan noted that Lee did not personally lay a finger on anyone on the day of the riot.
He included a letter by Lee’s daughter in his mitigation plea, in which she wrote that her father wants to put the case behind him and focus on rebuilding his life.
She wrote that her father has carried guilt for not visiting his parents and later their graves since 1989, and sought leniency so her father could “mend the broken pieces of his life”.
For rioting, he could have been jailed for five years. Caning would also have been possible, if he were below 50.