Teen ghost haunted Taman Ho Swee estate back in 1970 following a murder

The teen was slain by a group of gangsters.

Henedick Chng | October 29, 2017, 04:25 PM

A ghost spooked the residents of Taman Ho Swee housing estate in the Bukit Ho Swee area 47 years ago in 1970.

And there was pretty tragic back story to how the whole haunting began.

Killed by gangsters

On Sep. 26, 1970, a teenager (the media reported him to be either 15 or 17) newspaper vendor named Ong Tiong Lye was attacked by a group of gangsters.

He was killed and his body was found near Block 33 Taman Ho Swee with multiple slash wounds, according to Straits Times reports.

The Straits Times, Oct. 31, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG 

Ong was himself a resident of the area.

The Straits Times, Dec. 15, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

Screenshot from Google Map

Hauntings begin

Following Ong's untimely demise, his spirit began haunting the area. It wasn't just one or two residents who were spooked.

Many who lived in the Taman Ho Swee area had some eerie experience with Ong's ghost. And the local media picked up the story.

ST on Oct. 31, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

Moans and cries attributed to Ong's ghost were reportedly regularly heard by residents in the Taman Ho Swee area after midnight, one week after Ong was killed.

Sightings of apparition

Some had also claimed to have seen the apparition of Ong's spirit appearing and disappearing in the area.

ST on Oct. 31, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

Two men who reportedly saw Ong's ghost in the area claimed that they saw the teen with a blood-stained face.

One said that he saw a youth huddled in a corner, weeping. He approached the youth and told him to go home, but the man discovered to his horror that the youth's face was covered in blood.

ST on Oct. 31, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

Coroner asked about ghost in court

The hauntings by Ong's ghost in the area seemed serious enough to the point that even the Coroner of the day asked Ong's brother if he had seen Ong's ghost during the inquiry in court.

ST on Dec. 15, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

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A mother's pain

Sadly, Ong's mother Chia Ah Suan, who had to deal with the loss of her son, also had to contend with the haunting.

She had not seen Ong's ghost, but heard the weeping "many times" from her flat, which was on the 11th floor of the block near the spot of his death.

She also faced the pressure from her fellow neighbours asking her to have Ong's spirit exorcised, but she did not have the financial means to.

ST on Oct. 31, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG 

Bomoh to the rescue

It is unclear whether or not Chia managed to raise funds to engage a bomoh (medicine man) or if a bomoh came forward voluntarily, but one did come along and laid Ong's ghost to rest at the estate on Nov. 2, 1970.

ST on Nov. 3, 1970. Source: NewspaperSG

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Taman Ho Swee estate today

Taman Ho Swee estate was among the early public housing projects built by the HDB, following the tragedy of the Bukit Ho Swee fire that wiped out the kampong in the area on May 25, 1961.

The flats were built to accommodate those who lost their homes in the fire.

Screenshot from Google Street View

According to Remember Singapore, demolition work commenced from around 2013 onwards on some of the blocks in the Taman Ho Swee area, including Block 33 near the site of Ong's murder.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A block in Taman Ho Swee. Image via Remember Singapore.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Taman Ho Swee. Image via Remember Singapore.[/caption]

With the old estate's blocks gone, let's hope the ghosts there are also laid to rest.

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