Tan Sen Yang, the sole suspect facing a murder charge in the Orchard Towers murder, will be tried in the High Court, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said in a press release on Oct. 20.

In addition, the AGC said it was keen to clarify the various queries it received regarding the charges against the individuals involved in the case.

The AGC had previously already issued a media statement condemning accusations of racial bias in sentencing as "categorically false and baseless".

However, chatter online has been rampant regarding the sentencing of those involved.

Tan Sen Yang is represented by lawyers Eugene Thuraisingam and Suang Wijaya, from Eugene Thuraisingam LLP.

Why is Tan Sen Yang the sole suspect facing murder?

Tan Sen Yang's charge is based on causing the death of Satheesh Noel s/o Gobidass by using a kerambit knife with the intention of causing multiple injuries to the victim’s head and neck area.

Describing how the incident unfolded on July 2, the AGC summarised the prosecution's case as such:

• Initially, Tan Sen Yang had been drinking with his acquaintances at the Naughty Girl Club on the second floor of Orchard Towers.
• He was allegedly in possession of the kerambit knife at that time, which he supposedly placed on the table, resulting in his acquaintances seeing the weapon.
• Afterwards, they were confronted by the deceased while leaving the Naughty Girl Club.
• Tan Sen Yang, along with Ang Da Yuan, Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, Joel Tan Yun Sheng and the deceased ended up in a fight.
• Three other individuals — Chan Jia Xing, Tan Hong Sheng and Loo Boon Chong — were also at the scene of the fight. However, they either did not participate or tried to stop the fight.
• Eventually, the victim passed away from his knife injuries.

How were the others charged and why were they given their respective sentences?

The AGC provided the reasoning behind the charges for the other six suspects:

Ang Da Yuan, Natalie Siow and Joel Tan

For these three individuals, the AGC noted that they had admitted to kicking and punching the deceased during the fight.

All three were charged with voluntary causing hurt with common intention.

However, there was no plan to assault him nor did they know that Tan Sen Yang would use the knife during the fight.

Their acts were noted to have resulted in two abrasions on the deceased's upper body which were minor and non-fatal in nature.

However, on account of group violence, and the presence of many members of public during the fight, a month's imprisonment was sought for Siow and Joel Tan, while two months was sought for Ang as he had violent antecedents.

In addition, both Siow and Ang were also aware of Tan Sen Yang's possession of the weapon, and remained in his company in spite of it.

The two, therefore, received an additional charge of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.

The prosecution had sought a sentence of six months and six strokes of the cane for Ang, and an imprisonment term of nine months for Siow, uplifted from six months as she cannot be caned.

Ang was subsequently sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane, while Siow was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment on top of the 107 days (around three-and-a-half months) which she had earlier spent in remand.

Meanwhile, Joel Tan was sentenced to a month's imprisonment.

Tan Hong Sheng, Loo Boon Chong and Chan Jia Xing

In the meantime, the cases of both Tan Hong Sheng and Loo remain before the court.

Tan Hong Sheng faces a charge of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.

Loo also faces one charge of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place, and another charge of perverting the course of justice.

As for Chan, he has been given a 12-month conditional warning for his charge of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.

The AGC noted that he had tried to stop the attack on the deceased, and also cooperated with police investigations.

The charge against Chan may be revived should he re-offend within the 12-month period.

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Right image by Sulaiman Daud, left image via