Man, 56, dies after Blk 51 Chin Swee Rd fight: Neighbours saw man drunk outside deceased's home, heard commotion at 3am

A 56-year-old man died following an alleged altercation at Block 51 Chin Swee Road on Nov. 8.

Tan Boon Hui, 58, and Poh Choon Kiat, 59, were charged in court on Nov. 9 with murder with common intention.

One of the men allegedly stabbed the victim during a fight.

Poh is also suspected of drug-related offences, and the case has been referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau.

Shin Min Daily News reported that the deceased was nicknamed "Abu" and was a painter.

A resident in the block described the victim as a decent and friendly man, who did not cause trouble and would occasionally hang out with his friends at the void deck with cans of beer.

Both accused are friends

Shin Min also shed light on the relationship between the two men who got charged: Tan apparently lived on the 19th floor of the block, while Poh was his friend.

Abu apparently lived on the 17th floor.

Poh passed out along corridor

On the day of the incident, Poh had apparently passed out along the 17th floor corridor.

He allegedly then got into an argument with Abu.

This was apparently after Abu tried to wake Poh up.

Third person arrested apparently tried to help victim

Preliminary investigations revealed that four men were involved.

A 36-year-old man, reportedly a friend of Abu's, was believed to have been involved in the altercation as he was trying to help Abu.

He was subsequently arrested for affray.

But he has not been charged, The Straits Times reported.

A resident claimed that the 36-year-old man had stepped in to help Abu at around 1am that fateful day.

The exact nature of the dispute was not reported, but several residents claimed to have heard the early morning altercation.

A resident on the 15th floor said he was watching television when he saw one of the accused men and the victim run past his door one after the other, shouting as they did so.

In the aftermath of the incident, the police cordoned off six floors of the block: The 4th floor and the 15th to 19th floors.

There was a large pool of blood on the 17th floor, along with bloodstains on the stairs and handrails.

Police recovered and seized two knives.

Accused previously caused no trouble

Residents told Shin Min they were surprised that Tan, who lived on the 19th floor, got arrested.

According to them, Tan was known to drink, but was not known to cause problems.

Blood splattered on walls

Not only did a number of residents hear the dispute and the subsequent altercation at 1am, some of them saw the blood stains on the walls and ground.

Some residents encountered scenes of bloodied surfaces in the common areas, while one resident reportedly even took the lift with a man covered in blood.

A resident, who lives in the unit diagonally across from the deceased, confirmed that he heard a fight break out at around 3am.

He said he did not hear cries for help but saw the blood along the corridor when he left home at around 5am.

Another resident said she heard an argument at around 1am and it grew louder by 3am.

Lift encounter

An 18th floor resident said she came across several officers that morning providing first aid to a man.

Later, when she entered the lift to go downstairs, a man covered in blood appeared and shared the same lift as her.

"I was scared to death and quaked in fear. I was afraid to look up," she recounted.

She hastily exited the lift once it reached the ground floor.

The man who had blood on him took a step outside the lift and looked around before heading back up.

The blood stains were reportedly still visible after the town council sent cleaners to clean up the scene, according to residents.

A resident apparently had to clean up the blood with a towel as the stains were not totally removed.

Deceased a father of three

Abu reportedly was the youngest of 14 siblings and had three children from two marriages.

According to a neighbour, one child, a son, is currently about 20 years old.

Charged via video link

Both Tan and Poh were charged via video link on Nov. 9, according to ST.

Tan was warded at Changi General Hospital and appeared on camera while lying in bed wearing a neck brace.

The prosecution sought a one-week remand to aid in investigations and facilitate his return to the scene.

Tan told the court through an interpreter that he had a swollen leg and was unable to move around.

The judge told him to seek treatment from the doctors from the hospital he was warded at.

Poh was dressed in a red polo t-shirt and was held in a different location.

He had nothing to say after the charge was read to him, ST reported.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News