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A 65-year-old man was charged with attempted murder after he allegedly set a 37-year-old man on fire near a minimart at Marsiling Crescent on Wednesday night, Dec. 28.
Witness' account
When Mothership visited the minimart on Dec. 30, the minimart was still closed.
Photo by Nixon Tan.
According to a worker at a nearby seafood eatery, surnamed Ng, the 65-year-old accused, Tay Kheng Hock, went to Heng Hock Minimart at Block 210 to buy beer but was turned down by the 37-year-old shop owner Tan Khim Hee.
Tay allegedly got angry, which led to him pouring accelerant and setting Tan alight with a lighter.
Ng was unsure where Tay got the accelerant.
She said she heard that her co-worker went to get a fire extinguisher from a nearby laundromat to help put out the fire that had engulfed Tan.
At that time, Tan's whole body was in flames and he was screaming in pain, which drew the attention of people in the vicinity, according to Ng.
Photo of charred grass patch outside the minimart. Photo by Nixon Tan.
Ng said the accused lives nearby.
Accused was charged in court, remanded for a week
Tay was charged in court on Dec. 30 morning.
The prosecutor asked for Tay's remand for a week, and he will be brought back to the scene for investigations and for exhibits to be collected.
Tay's lawyer had no objections to that request, and Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun agreed to it.
Top images by Nixon Tan.