Murder of Lee Kim Lai

The robbery, kidnapping and murder of Lee was considered as a notable crime that shook Singapore. In July 2015, Singapore's national daily newspaper The Straits Times published a e-book titled Guilty As Charged: 25 Crimes That Have Shaken Singapore Since 1965, which included the case as one of the top 25 crimes that shocked the nation since its independence in 1965. The book was borne out of collaboration between the Singapore Police Force and the newspaper itself.

The murder of Lee made front-page news in relatively crime-free Singapore, and was particularly noted for the speed in which the case was solved. The case appeared in a compilation of notable crimes in a 1987 publication, 999 True Cases from the CID, and was re-enacted in a television drama, True Files in 2002.

The three men were quickly arrested with the help of Constable Siew, who happened to be at the scene and spotted two of them behaving suspiciously soon after the murders. They were subsequently convicted for the murder of Lee and Chew and hanged on 24 February 1984.

Lee Kim Lai (1960 – 25 April 1978) was a police officer who was murdered on 25 April 1978 for his service revolver by three men. A serving Police National Serviceman, he was performing sentry duty at the Police Reserve Unit 1 base of the Singapore Police Force at Mount Vernon when he was abducted from the front gate and forced into a taxi. His body was later found with multiple stab wounds in the abandoned taxi, the driver of which was also killed.

The plot to commit robbery was first proposed by Ong Hwee Kuan on the night of 21 April 1978 when the three friends were gathered at a playground in Geylang Bahru, as a solution to the economic hardship that the three were experiencing. Because the other two did not protest, Hwee Kuan went on to suggest that a gun would be needed for such an act, although firearms were outlawed in Singapore. Ching Boon recalled his days serving as a police sentry at the PRU base and proposed stealing the gun from the sentry posted there. They could not come up with a feasible idea to commit the crime without attracting attention, however. The following day when the three met again, Ching Boon suggested approaching the sentry while dressed in his police uniform, with Chin Hock in his military attire and to threaten the sentry with icepicks. Chin Hock, however, felt the uniforms would only attract the attention of the camp guard, but none could think of a way to commit the act without anyone noticing. Ching Boon felt that the risk was worth taking using his plan and proposed to carry it out at 2:00 am on 25 April when the sentries are likely to be less alert.

At about 1:30 am on 25 April 1978, the three men left the coffee shop and Ching Boon went home to change and collect the traveling bag. Dressed in a red T-shirt, he tucked the icepick into his dark blue pants. Chin Hock was dressed in a white long sleeved top and dark blue pants, while Hwee Kuan was in a beige long sleeve top and blue jeans. The trio waited along Kallang Bahru near Block 66 for a taxi. Soon, a Yellow Top taxi stopped for them, driven by Chew Theng Hin, aged 60. Ching Boon got into the front seat and instructed the driver to go to the PRU base. Hwee Kuan sat behind the driver, and Chin Hock behind Ching Boon. The taxi proceeded via Bendemeer Road, Whampoa East Road, Serangoon Road and Upper Aljunied Road. Chew was instructed to stop the taxi near the rear gate of the PRU base at a dark and secluded stretch of the road.

In the early morning of 25 April 1978, Lee, who was on sentry duty for the first time, took over the hourly sentry duty from fellow officer Koh Kah Kway at 2:00 am. He was issued with his service revolver, a .38 Webley & Scott, and ten rounds of ammunition, five of which were already loaded in the revolver. Soon after, the Yellow Top taxi approached the gate. The front seat passenger, Ching Boon, alighted from the taxi with the icepick hidden in his waist and approached the sentry, flashing his NS Police Warrant. He lied to Lee that he and Hwee Kuan were from the PRU base and asked his help to carry Hwee Kuan from the backseat of the taxi, where he was apparently heavily drunk. Believing this to be a genuine emergency, Lee left his post and followed Ching Boon to the taxi.

The last of the three, a school drop-out at age 12 after repeatedly failing his Entrance Examination in 1972, had worked as a painter and an odd job labourer. He has been involved in petty crimes with other members of the "18 group" of Sio Kun Tong, a secret society. He was placed under police supervision for a year in February 1974 for involvement with the group and was jailed for two years in 1973 for consorting with another police supervisee. He was subsequently under police supervision for another year upon his release. In 1976, he robbed a Malay man for his watch and cash with Chin Hock and another friend. In April 1977, he was detained in the Telok Pakau Drug Rebabilitation Centre for six months for smoking heroin.