Chua Ser Lien

Chua Ser Lien (蔡思连 Caì Sīlián; c. 1961 – 8 July 2020) was a Singaporean who, together with his accomplice Tan Ping Koon, kidnapped a seven-year-old girl duirng Christmas Day of 2003. The abduction was brief and witnessed by several people, one of whom gave chase to the pair. Both Chua and Tan, then aged 42 and 35 respectively, realised they were followed and released the girl at Tampines. However, the two kidnappers called the girl's father the following day and demanded S$1 million from him or they would hurt her family. The sum of S$70,000 was eventually agreed and paid to them before both their arrests on 27 December 2003.

On the morning of 8 July 2020, after being given their medication, the inmates of the psychiatric housing unit were allowed to come out of their respective cells for one hour of television time. Chua, who was described as a "reclusive", did not join the others to watch television, and he preferred to roam the day room alone for a walk, which he usually did for the past few months without issue.

On 22 December 2020, nearly 17 years after the kidnapping, a coroner's inquiry found no indication of foul play or negligence on the part of the prison officers and ruled Chua's death as suicide after a five-month investigation.

In 2018, Chua's bipolar disorder condition deteriorated and in view of his worsening symptoms, Chua was transferred to the psychiatric housing unit of Changi Prison, where he continued to serve his sentence. By 2019, Chua's ex-wife observed that her ex-husband was growing more aggressive towards her during her visits, speculating that the medication had not worked on Chua, and she last visited him in November 2019, before speaking to him over the phone in June 2020. Still, Chua was periodically assessed and he did not display any suicidal tendencies, and this was further noted by Chua's cellmate and prison officers. Chua's conduct while in prison also showed a positive evaluation that he may be eligible for release on parole upon reaching the twenty-year mark of his sentence, and he made plans to live with his mother upon his future release.

After they both stood trial in September 2004 and pled guilty, both Tan and Chua were each sentenced to life imprisonment and three strokes of the cane. In July 2020, after 17 years behind bars, Chua, who was suffering from bipolar disorder, attempted suicide and fell off the railing during yard time at Changi Prison (where he served his sentence), and he died on the same day of his fall.

On 6 September 2004, Chua Ser Lien and Tan Ping Koon stood trial at the High Court for the abduction of the seven-year-old girl and extortion. Although both men initially argued there was no case to answer since the demand for ransom did not take place after the girl's abduction, both Tan and Chua eventually changed their minds and plead guilty to kidnapping the girl for ransom.

On 9 September 2004, 42-year-old Chua Ser Lian was sentenced to life imprisonment and three strokes of the cane. 35-year-old Tan Ping Koon also received the same sentence of life with caning (three strokes) for the kidnapping as well. Despite his sympathy towards the men for their personal difficulties, Justice Tay Yong Kwang of the High Court nonetheless reprimanded Chua and Tan for targetting a young child and stated that both men, who were fathers themselves, should know better than anyone the anguish of any parent whose child goes missing. Justice Tay also pointed out that while the men did release the girl shortly after the abduction, they did it not out of a change of heart but due to their "sheer hard luck", and they tried to extort money from the family under threats of their safety despite the failure. The judge inferred that the men had planned the kidnapping for a week and it demonstrated the meticulous planning and premeditation on the part of both men (especially Chua) since "their moves were opportunistic, targeting easy victims like children and intruding into a home at a time when preparations for a party were under way and when strangers would not be immediately noticed."

In the aftermath of Chua's kidnapping trial, the seven-year-old girl's abduction case was dramatized in the Singaporean crime show Crimewatch, airing as the ninth episode of the show's annual season in 2004.

By late 2003, Chua Ser Lien's cleaning company had experienced several monetary problems, and Chua also accumulated a gambling debt of around S$600,000. In early December 2003, 42-year-old Chua, who was stressed by his financial problems, met up with his 35-year-old friend Tan Ping Koon (陈平坤 Chén Píngkūn), who was a self-employed transport manager to talk about his debts. Similarly, at that time, Tan himself was also troubled by his percarious financial situation and debts amounting to half a million dollars, and his wife had left him and his nine-year-old daughter to live in separation. Prior to this, Tan and Chua knew each other for seven years as they both lived in the same public housing neighbourhood at Tampines.

On 25 December 2003, coincidentally Christmas Day, after a week of planning and scouting the address, both Chua and Tan put their plan into action, driving Chua's white car with false registration numbers to the director's bungalow house at Yio Chu Kang. It was discussed that Chua would abduct the child while Tan be the driver, since Tan was fatter in comparison to Chua's body size and may not be fast enough for movement; they also thought of confining the child inside Tan's flat for a period of time until the ransom was paid. The men, upon seeing that the gates were open and the director's three children were in the living room watching television, the men made their move.

The police tailed both Chua and Tan, who both collected the ransom at the pick-up point, and not knowing that they were followed, the men went to Tampines to have lunch at a coffee shop. They ate their meal and went back to the car, where they were ambushed and arrested by the police officers for kidnapping the girl two days earlier and extorting ransom from the girl's father. Both men were charged in court with kidnapping for ransom on 29 December 2003; if found guilty of such a crime, Chua and Tan faced either life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The occurrence of the 2003 Christmas kidnapping was not the only kidnap case that happened in the year 2003 itself. Just four months earlier, a 45-year-old jobless Singaporean named Selvaraju Satippan kidnapped two women - MediaCorp journalist Nina Elizabeth Varghese and her maid - for ransom, and even tried to kill the hostages. Selvaraju was arrested, charged and sentenced to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane for kidnapping, attempted murder, causing hurt and arson.

After his sentencing in 2004, Chua was transferred to the Cluster A of Changi Prison, where he began serving his life sentence with effect from the date of his capture on 27 December 2003. In 2005, a year after Chua's conviction and sentencing, Chua's wife divorced him in order to apply for a rental flat to provide a place for her sons and herself to move into. Still, Chua's ex-wife still loved him and considered Chua as her husband, and he continued to receive regular visits from his sons and ex-wife. Chua also continually received medical treatment for his psychiatric condition.

Chua had experienced a series of psychiatric problems during adulthood. He was first diagnosed in May 2001 to have schizoaffective disorder, a severe form of mental illness. During that time, Chua was observed to be talkative and irrelevant in his speech, had delusions of grandeur and paranoia and kept hearing hallucinatory voices. According to the psychiatrist, Chua "was illogical, his judgment was severely impaired and he was out of touch with reality." He was hospitalised in Adam Road Hospital between 27 May and 16 June 2001 for treatment. While Chua recovered and was mentally stable from June 2001 to May 2002, he began feeling depressed since July 2002, and he had bouts of sleeplessness and mood swings. Chua's wife also gradually took notice of her husband's strange behaviours (caused by Chua's psychiatric condition), such as his sudden declaration to donate a million dollars during a meeting at Nanyang Technological University, Chua changing cars thrice and purchasing six expensive watches at one go, and his insistence that the kitchen was hell and the living room was heaven. She later referred her husband to a psychiatrist after he locked himself in his room on one occasion with two pieces of bread. Chua was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and was prescribed with anti-psychotic medication to treat his disorder.

Chua, who covered his face with a mask, alighted the car, and he swiftly entered the house, where the family was busy preparing for a party to celebrate Christmas. Chua entered the living room, and he grabbed one of the children - a seven-year-old girl who was born on 26 August 1996 - who was the closest to him. The girl's two brothers, who were playing electronic games, happened to witness the abduction of their sister and quickly informed their mother, who called the police. At the meantime, Chua entered the car with the girl, and as Tan drove the car, Chua repeatedly assured the girl that she was safe and he would not harm her, and accepted her requests to not be tied, gagged or blindfolded.

After he finished his schooling and reached adulthood, Chua later established a cleaning company and became the director of the company itself. He married a woman in 1985, and together, the couple had two sons, who were born in 1998 and 1999 respectively; the younger son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Chua was also the sole breadwinner of his family.

Born in Singapore in 1961, Chua Ser Lien was the third child in his family and he grew up together with a few siblings in his family.