A member of the public has come forward with a tip-off regarding the unsolved case of a seven-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Singapore in June 1995.

The deceased, Lim Shiow Rong, was found in the morning in a drain near Jalan Woodbridge, some 8km from where she was last seen at about 9:30pm in Toa Payoh the night before.

Her body was discovered strangled and in a semi-sitting position.

The tip-off came almost 26 years after the little girl's death, following the family's latest public appeal, where they went to the media to publicise the case.

The family is appealing for any new information from the public, as they are motivated to crack this cold case after seeing the police make progress with the Felicia Teo murder case some 13 years after it happened.

Tip-off from man who contacted Crime Library Singapore

Following the media publicising the family's appeal, a man, on Jan. 12, contacted Crime Library Singapore, a non-profit organisation whose stated mission is to promote crime awareness and prevention.

The man said he had information on a patron who frequented Shiow Rong's mother's coffee shop at Block 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5, which was the last place the girl was seen alive.

The patron apparently fit the description of a photo composition circulated by the police in 1995.

Shiow Rong's mother, Ang Goon Lay, has been plagued by guilt after her daughter's tragic death, it was reported.

Appeal fronted by sister of deceased girl

Fronting the public appeal is Lim Jia Hui, 27, who is Shiow Rong's younger sister.

Lim Jia Hui was about one years old when Shiow Rong died.

Fresh police report filed

Lim Jia Hui filed a police report on Jan. 14 with the tip-off provided. (See below for full police report.)

An officer from the Special Investigation Section of the Criminal Investigation Department has since contacted Lim Jia Hui, The Sunday Times reported.

According to ST, Lim Jia Hui said that she and her mother are happy that the police "listened to our appeal" this time round.

Reported case to police in 2014

The family had attempted to have the case reopened previously several years ago, but was unsuccessful.

In 2014, Lim Jia Hui's father, Lim Kim Siong, filed a police report to have the case reviewed.

At the time of Shiow Rong's death in 1995, Lim Kim Siong had just entered prison for the first week of his two-year sentence for drug-related offences.

He was allowed out of prison at that time to attend his daughter's funeral.

Lim Kim Siong was released in 1998 and he continued to look for leads until he died in 2016 at age 67.

It was previously reported that he was also plagued by guilt over his daughter's death and that he blamed himself for not taking care of his family enough.

About the case

Lim Shiow Rong, seven, was last seen on June 24, 1995, at about 9:30pm at the Block 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 coffee shop, owned by her father.

Her mother, who still works there, was busy at that time.

The little girl ran off on her own, as she said she was going to meet "papa's friend".

She then went missing.

Shiow Rong's mother, Ang, searched all night around the coffee shop, going to her daughter's favourite playgrounds but could not find her.

One of the clues uncovered after the girl's death was a piece of paper torn from a cigarette carton.

It was recovered from Shiow Rong's waist pouch left behind at the coffee shop.

On it was a pager number and the single Chinese character "di", which means younger brother, written on it.

The police were given the number, but it did not generate any leads.

The date "24th June" was found on Shiow Rong's bedroom wall, and it was reported to have been written by the little girl.

June 24 was the day she went missing.

Ang told ST that her daughter was clever and not shy, and had even helped out at the coffee shop taking orders from customers.

When the family met the media for this latest appeal to publicise the case, it was reported that Ang and Lim Jia Hui have two suspects in mind who might be linked to Shiow Rong’s death.

Police report details

The latest police report filed by Lim Jia Hui, following the tip-off received, read:

On 24/06/1995, my sister by the name of Miss Lim Shiow Rong, aged 7 went missing from Toa Payoh Blk 75, Lorong 5, she was found raped-cum-murdered at old Jln Woodbridge

Till date, the police has yet solve my sister's case and my family did not receive any updates despite lodging a police report in 2014 at Tanglin Police station.

Just 3 days ago, my family has gone public with the media, appealing for information in hoping that it would help the police to solve my sister's case.

Then on Tuesday, 12/01/2021, a caller responded by saying that he was also a regular patron of victim's mother coffee shop and wished to give information about another patron who always visit their stall that fit the description of the sketch provided by the police. This caller is Mr [redacted] and his nos is [redacted] and he is available for statement.

With this, my family sincerely hope that the police can work on it and continue to investigate to find the murderer.

Lastly, my family would like to meet the current IO team (if any) with a formal appointment/introduction in regards to my sister's case.

Await your reply. Thank you SPF

Top photos via here & here