Loo Boon Chong has pleaded guilty on Monday (Dec. 14) to obstructing justice by discarding a blood-stained shirt belonging to a co-accused involved in the 2019 Orchard Towers murder.
The 27-year-old is one of the seven people originally charged with the murder.
However, he had his murder charge reduced on Jul. 11, 2019 to consorting with a person possessing an offensive weapon, which will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
According to CNA, Loo had admitted that he threw away the blood-stained shirt belonging to the co-accused, Tan Sen Yang, who is still the only one facing a murder charge.
Loo has also pleaded guilty to a second unrelated gambling charge, as reported by The Straits Times.
He will return to court on Jan. 15, 2021 for sentencing.
Was part of group involved in dispute at Orchard Towers
According to court documents seen by Mothership, Loo had been drinking with his friends in Orchard Road at 5am on July 2, 2019.
The group of friends included Tan, whom Loo had known for three years. Loo did not intentionally arrange to meet up with Tan that night. Loo was invited to the drinking session by another friend.
The group ended up at Naughty Girl Club in Orchard Towers.
A dispute subsequently broke out in the club between Loo's group of friends and another group of patrons.
Loo saw that Tan was armed with a knife and was pointing it at the other group.
Tan ended up injuring two people near the club entrance with his karambit knife.
Loo tried to stop the fight, as stated in court documents, but someone soon warned that the police was coming.
Loo then took the lift to the ground floor of Orchard Towers to leave the place with his group, including Tan.
Left Orchard Towers after the victim was injured
When he was exiting Orchard Towers at the ground floor entrance, 31-year-old Satheesh Noel Gobidass came down alone.
Satheesh confronted one member of Loo's group, but the other members retaliated by attacking Satheesh.
In particular, Tan injured Satheesh fatally when he used the karambit knife to inflict multiple injuries to Satheesh's head and neck area.
Court documents stated that Loo did not join the attack on Satheesh at the Orchard Towers ground floor entrance.
He and the rest of his group left Orchard Towers hurriedly.
Before leaving, however, he saw Satheesh, who was bleeding on his face, walk a few steps before collapsing at the entrance of Orchard Towers.
Loo ran out of Orchard Towers and boarded a taxi with three others from his group, including Tan.
Victim died
Satheesh later succumbed to his injuries and died that same day.
Meanwhile, Loo and Tan went to Boon Lay Market. Tan still had his karambit knife with him at this point.
After they left Boon Lay Market, Tan asked Loo to allow him to go to take a shower at his house. Loo agreed.
They then took another taxi to Loo's house.
After taking a shower, Tan asked Loo to lend him a new top so that he could change.
Loo noticed that there was a patch of blood stain on Tan's white T-shirt, which he knew Tan was wearing at Orchard Towers earlier.
Loo subsequently gave Tan Sen Yang a fresh T-shirt, of another colour, to change into.
Tan left his blood stained T-shirt inside Loo's bedroom after changing.
Disposed the blood-stained shirt
Before Tan left his house, Loo passed Tan S$50 cash for transport, and lent him a pair of slippers.
After Tan left, Loo checked his house to make sure that Tan did not leave the karambit knife behind.
However, Loo saw Tan's blood-stained white T-shirt in his bedroom.
Knowing that it was evidence, Loo brought the T-shirt out of his house and discarded it down the common rubbish chute along the corridor.
Later that same day, Loo was arrested.
Tan's blood-stained T-shirt was not retrieved by the police.
Related stories about the case
Top images by Melanie Lim & via Facebook.