Katong Bomb - 1974 - Know You History

[scroobal]

At least 2 forummers from this forum have had to do something with this case. So here goes.

It was just 6 am on Friday, 20 st December 1974, when residents of Katong woke up to a mighty explosion. A bomb carried by the front seat passenger on his lap prematurely exploded as the car travelling down Still Road was just about to reach the junction with East Coast Road. It instantly killed the passenger, a Malaysian and ripped him open. The blast threw out the driver, a driver on to the road and he was eventually to die in hospital despite surgery. The driver an old boy of Chung Cheng High School was then an active member of Barisan Socialis. A third man seat in the back seat limped away and escaped. 3 other bombs were also discovered amidst the wreckage. Also found were flyers of Communist Party of Malaysia satellite organisations Malaysian National Liberation Front and the Malaysan Communist Youth League.

The trio were on their way not to light up the Christmas Tree at Katong Holy Church but to bomb the owner of Nanyang Shoe Factory located in JB at his residence in East Coast. The owner and his workers were in the midst of an industrial strife.

On Sunday, 22nd December at the stroke of midnight, Dr Poh Soo Kai and his wife Grace left their home in their Toyota Corolla and headed North. A friend called G Raman, a lawyer in private practice and fellow traveler followed them in his car, a Volvo. They crossed the Causeway and headed for a Jetty in Masai near Pasir Gudang. The waited a while in the dead of the night, a boat with 2 males crossed over from Singapore. One of them was 3rd man from the car and he was injured. They were driven quite a distance to an isolated wooden house where the injured man was treated.

The lawyer took leave as he was due in Court in a few hours time to defend one client who was being tried in court for rioting with two other defendants. He was originally asked to defend two of them but the main defendant by the name of Tan Wah Piow chose to conduct his defence.

Within a year, the lawyer went on to hire a young female lawyer called Teo Soh Lung for his practice.

Since Singapore's history began, there were 3 main incidents involving detention without trail. First was Operation Coldstore in 1963, the Euro Communists arrests in 1977 and Operations Spectrum - the Marxist Conspiracy in 1987. Dr Poh was one of the stars of the first incident in 63, G Raman was main protagonist in the second in 77 and Teo Soh Lung in the third in 87. Note the link involving 3 individuals over a span of 25 years.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Scroo

Interestingly enough Dr Poh denied it true and true including the story of crossing the Causeway claiming that his passport was not stamped and showed no proof of crossing. As it stands, they seem confident enough in their "friends" and their accounts not being able to be caught out by ISD. So it all boils down to these.

a. Who ratted on Dr Poh.

b. And why does he believe that he can get away with it.

c. And how reliable is the source which ratted on Poh.


Locke

At least 2 forummers from this forum have had to do something with this case. So here goes.

It was just 6 am on Friday, 20 st December 1974, when residents of Katong woke up to a mighty explosion. A bomb carried by the front seat passenger on his lap prematurely exploded as the car travelling down Still Road was just about to reach the junction with East Coast Road. It instantly killed the passenger, a Malaysian and ripped him open. The blast threw out the driver, a driver on to the road and he was eventually to die in hospital despite surgery. The driver an old boy of Chung Cheng High School was then an active member of Barisan Socialis. A third man seat in the back seat limped away and escaped. 3 other bombs were also discovered amidst the wreckage. Also found were flyers of Communist Party of Malaysia satellite organisations Malaysian National Liberation Front and the Malaysan Communist Youth League.

The trio were on their way not to light up the Christmas Tree at Katong Holy Church but to bomb the owner of Nanyang Shoe Factory located in JB at his residence in East Coast. The owner and his workers were in the midst of an industrial strife.

On Sunday, 22nd December at the stroke of midnight, Dr Poh Soo Kai and his wife Grace left their home in their Toyota Corolla and headed North. A friend called G Raman, a lawyer in private practice and fellow traveler followed them in his car, a Volvo. They crossed the Causeway and headed for a Jetty in Masai near Pasir Gudang. The waited a while in the dead of the night, a boat with 2 males crossed over from Singapore. One of them was 3rd man from the car and he was injured. They were driven quite a distance to an isolated wooden house where the injured man was treated.

The lawyer took leave as he was due in Court in a few hours time to defend one client who was being tried in court for rioting with two other defendants. He was originally asked to defend two of them but the main defendant by the name of Tan Wah Piow chose to conduct his defence.

Within a year, the lawyer went on to hire a young female lawyer called Teo Soh Lung for his practice.

Since Singapore's history began, there were 3 main incidents involving detention without trail. First was Operation Coldstore in 1963, the Euro Communists arrests in 1977 and Operations Spectrum - the Marxist Conspiracy in 1987. Dr Poh was one of the stars of the first incident in 63, G Raman was main protagonist in the second in 77 and Teo Soh Lung in the third in 87. Note the link involving 3 individuals over a span of 25 years.

 

[HTOLAS]

This is a little long but worth the read.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/teo-s...with-the-injured-bomber-part-/180869055321309

 

[scroobal]

That is the article that triggered my post. Note how she is connected.

This is a little long but worth the read.http://www.facebook.com/notes/teo-s...with-the-injured-bomber-part-/180869055321309

 

[HTOLAS]

Guilt by association is ok for you then?

That is the article that triggered my post. Note how she is connected.

 

[scroobal]

Poh, his wife, Raman and Chua Ah Sing the chap who harboured and brought the injured man across were all detained. You have 4 statements to corroborate. If the statements don't corroborate, it is worthless. So what is corroboration? An example would be that all parties must be kept in isolation until their statements are taken and their statements must say that all parties saw the same blue coloured and round shaped object fly from east to west across the morning sky. If the colour, shape, time of day and the direction don't match, the statements do not corroborate the incident in question and it is worthless. So in this case, there is a whole raft of details that must be corroborated and it begins with the slightest trivial detail such as car model and clothes worn, to jetty to major details.

I did not mention Toyota Corolla for artistic effect. In this business, you can't rely on a single source and you can't rely on confessions. If you do, they will demote you and ask you to keep an eye on Uncle Yap as punishment. At the end of the day, we still have people who genuinely believe that Neil Armstrong did not land on the moon and the whole thing was shot in a movie studio. So how do you convince these people? You don't.

Dear Scroo Interestingly enough Dr Poh denied it true and true including the story of crossing the Causeway claiming that his passport was not stamped and showed no proof of crossing. As it stands, they seem confident enough in their "friends" and their accounts not being able to be caught out by ISD. So it all boils down to these.a. Who ratted on Dr Poh.b. And why does he believe that he can get away with it. c. And how reliable is the source which ratted on Poh.Locke

 

[scroobal]

This is the second time you asked me that. I listed out the events. I never said anything about guilt. It is not anyone's job to convince you and I don't think there is even a need to have your opinion either. Take it as entertainment, fiction. You can bring a donkey to a water trough, but you can't make it drink.

Frankly, I don't believe in any of this shit. In my opinion, they are trying fix her up. I heard that she was drafting the paternal child support document of a your seamstress where the father wanted to remain anonymous. From the address given of the father, she deduced they it had to be the old man. They have to be after her since. I rather do my own research. I recently went to NY and I clearly saw the WTC standing there completely intact. Don't you believe in Osama bin Laden. It's the western intention to hold on to the oil reserves.

The 12 year communist insurgency in Malaysia was a hoax to drive the rubber prices up. I heard that Lee Kong Chian and OCBC were behind it. On 20th Dec 1974' there was no car bomb, it was actually an engine that backfired but the Straits Times had to raise circulation. Teo Soh Lung in her pig tales just happened to sit at North Canal Road sipping coffee with Raman and Tan Jing Quee shooting the breeze.

Frankly, I rather trust Facebook any day. There are very few people like you and me. I too must see the actual event myself. That is why I think it is wrong for a judge to pass judgement unless he saw the crime himself.

Guilt by association is ok for you then?

 

[Debonerman]

Hanged, drawn and quartered. Let readers comprehend that! You are too harsh, scroobal.

 

[elephanto]

This is the second time you asked me that. I listed out the events. I never said anything about guilt. It is not anyone's job to convince you and I ....... Quee shooting the breeze. Frankly, I rather trust Facebook any day. There are very few people like you and me. I too must see the actual event myself. That is why I think it is wrong for a judge to pass judgement unless he saw the crime himself.

This disabusement paragraph is a gem...Laconic and cynical, more hard than the Other Hard Truth tomb..Agree bro, in this world of skeptics, anyone can CHOOSE to believe what they will, evidence/ arguments/ logic are sadly malleable or deemed so....Takes sanity and peace to discern : of course please always include humor, otherwise life's not worth living

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Scroo

There is an old joke about a competition between the KGB , MI6 and the CIA after the cold war during a Summit between the leaders of their respective countries. All of them were boasting about how good their respective security services were at keeping their countries safe from terrorist and assorted villains. So in order to settle the issue a particular white rabbit was let loose into a forest full of grey rabbits and each agency was tasked to bring it in. Well the KGB sent in a trained female white rabbit but after one day the KGB gave up and said she had slept with every rabbit in the forest except the correct one. MI6 sent in an English white rabbit but alas came out suspiciously in the company of the russian female rabbit, The CIA well it just sent in their top agent who came out of the forest after a day leading a black bear. All the leaders started laughing at the work of the CIA, until the agent looked at the bear and the bear just said, " I am a white rabbit. "

Guantanomo and Al Gharib has proven that torture and excessive pressure leads to inaccurate interrogations and people telling their interrogators what they want to hear in order to to stop the treatment.

I am not to sure what was the "approved' technique in the sixties and seventies but the accounts sees to indicate some degree of physical and mental pressure. It hopefully will prove to be accurate.





Locke

Poh, his wife, Raman and Chua Ah Sing the chap who harboured and brought the injured man across were all detained. You have 4 statements to corroborate. If the statements don't corroborate, it is worthless. So what is corroboration? An example would be that all parties must be kept in isolation until their statements are taken and their statements must say that all parties saw the same blue coloured and round shaped object fly from east to west across the morning sky. If the colour, shape, time of day and the direction don't match, the statements do not corroborate the incident in question and it is worthless. So in this case, there is a whole raft of details that must be corroborated and it begins with the slightest trivial detail such as car model and clothes worn, to jetty to major details.

I did not mention Toyota Corolla for artistic effect. In this business, you can't rely on a single source and you can't rely on confessions. If you do, they will demote you and ask you to keep an eye on Uncle Yap as punishment. At the end of the day, we still have people who genuinely believe that Neil Armstrong did not land on the moon and the whole thing was shot in a movie studio. So how do you convince these people? You don't.

 

[Rogue Trader]

I know several old couples in their 70s now, obviously well educated but condemned to a life of being tuition teachers and small time businessmen. Honest, hardworking people.

They never talk of their past and seldom turn up for class gatherings. But old classmates will tell you they were exceptionally bright and displayed leadership qualities during their student days back in the 50s and 60s. And during the best years of their life, they "went missing" .

Strange, cos they don't seem the sort who have handled firearm or explosives before.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Rogue,

Imagine that in the sixties, you were them, bright, idealistic , with a background from the lower middle and the working class. You were amongst the brightest and most articulate in school and in Uni, leading class events involved in clubs, societies etc etc and suddenly one day a 'friend" asks you to join them for a study group in say, Chinese Literature, or heck Chinese History , or economics depending on your background. You agree because heck its harmless and it might be a chance to dig some cute chick you have been "beoing "

Discussions start well enough, school work, project related but as the discussion winds down, talk turns to the social problem of your day. Do you want fairness ? Do you want equality ? Do you want your parents to have a decent lifestyle today, health care, running water, a decent job at a decent wage, So this carries on for a couple of months and then suddenly someone introduces you to literature from say the European Socialist party, International Socialist Coalition, International Workers Coalition etc etc, Well you read it you start discussing it and then someone says or suggests that perhaps you might like to meet up with a seperate group to discuss this in greater detail. Well nothing wrong with that, really its all academic and harmless, so well you go to the new group, that cute gal you were beoing is there but wait for some reason most of the old study group as disappeared and when you ask why, someone tells you that they were not interested and well you were special, shared similar values, cared for humanity, the world, and if this was today, it would be fish, animals, anti death penalty, Islam tc etc so ok nothing wrong in that RIGHT ? And after all that cute chick is there to beo and she is sitting next to you as your HMMMM study companion so why not.

So it continues the discussions now turn to the injustices of the present day society, then to the injustices of businessmen , capitalist and then the government of the day who are supporting the capitalist who are oppressing you and your parents. Now at some point in this whole act someone new would have been introduced to the group who would have taken on the role of mentor or reacher and at some point he tells you that the communist are not communist but really socialist and would you like to help the socialist ? The smart ones the cynical ones would have bailed out by not and then reported them to the ISD. But heck you are an idealist and the chick you were beoing really digs you and this socliasim and communism stuff so why not. ?

Then it starts getting a little more weird, secret messages in abandoned tin cans, you are told to collect stuff and drop it of to people you do not know, a bit weird right, but its not like you are a communist PARTY member, heck you study communism and socialism but no not a communist just helping supporting. And wait there is a workers strike, you are asked to help give out flyers amongst students and recruit students to help support a strike, but the again why not and that cute chick really digs this stuff, and then one day you are arrested and you find out they were all communists and that nice teacher was a CPM member etc etc etc Fifty years later, you just want to get on with life reclaim your lost youth, catch up with the rest of your classmates who all now have houses cars etc etc and smart kids in banks GLCs, but wait why is that NICE MAN who recruited you fifty years ago now claiming that he was never a communist.




Locke

I know several old couples in their 70s now, obviously well educated but condemned to a life of being tuition teachers and small time businessmen. Honest, hardworking people.

They never talk of their past and seldom turn up for class gatherings. But old classmates will tell you they were exceptionally bright and displayed leadership qualities during their student days back in the 50s and 60s. And during the best years of their life, they "went missing" .

Strange, cos they don't seem the sort who have handled firearm or explosives before.

 

[da dick]

sounds like they punished a doctor just for being a doctor. theseadays doctors would only heal you if you have any money, or they're sure that your insurance company won't sue them.

 

[psy83]

True.. You also need to sell a pig or cow just to see a bush doctor.

 

[Checker]

Corroborate or not may not be black or white... many shades of gray. Room for the interrogator's own judgement and bias.

But have several questions about this particular case:

Not sure how a car with several people can be driven across borders without immigration noticing. Surely after an explosion, everyone must be alert... and they weren't guerrillas like MS.

Uppermost must have been whether they were actually involved in the bomb plot - a most serious crime. Must have been suspects at least. And it looks like there was no such evidence or they'd been hung up to dry for it. Question then is could they have been opportunistically fixed up as 'sympathizers'?

 

[Areopagus]

Simple fact is the passport...

Just produce it and it will end all this speculation

Poh, his wife, Raman and Chua Ah Sing the chap who harboured and brought the injured man across were all detained. You have 4 statements to corroborate. If the statements don't corroborate, it is worthless. So what is corroboration? An example would be that all parties must be kept in isolation until their statements are taken and their statements must say that all parties saw the same blue coloured and round shaped object fly from east to west across the morning sky. If the colour, shape, time of day and the direction don't match, the statements do not corroborate the incident in question and it is worthless. So in this case, there is a whole raft of details that must be corroborated and it begins with the slightest trivial detail such as car model and clothes worn, to jetty to major details.

I did not mention Toyota Corolla for artistic effect. In this business, you can't rely on a single source and you can't rely on confessions. If you do, they will demote you and ask you to keep an eye on Uncle Yap as punishment. At the end of the day, we still have people who genuinely believe that Neil Armstrong did not land on the moon and the whole thing was shot in a movie studio. So how do you convince these people? You don't.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Aero.

Dr Poh said his passport bore no proof, but then it was the seventies, there was an active communist underground, policemen were still willing to take bribes etc etc, and there was no biometric etc etc, so if I was really a communist sympathizer and I was valued for the help I was giving , I would have been smuggled across with false papers. But then it's just me and I paranoid and suspicious by nature

if I carried it further, I would ask about the logistics cell supporting the three man squad. I would ask who was the idiot of a bomb maker who blew up his team member or was he amongst the three ? I would ask again who got the survivor out and I would admire the communist front for not sending members on one way trips.

lastly if Dr Poh was really helping them, he would have been of great help in supplying the CPM camps in Thailand with controlled drugs like anti malaria, morphine etc etc . Logistics was the bane of the CPM before they moved to Thailand and I do wonder if he was an active source of medical support n supplies.


Locke


Locke

Simple fact is the passport...

Just produce it and it will end all this speculation

 

[Rogue Trader]

Locke

Nah that takes too long. I would have gotten the chiobu by the third club meeting.

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

the 12 year communist insurgency in malaysia was a hoax to drive the rubber prices up.

lol. ...................

 

[scroobal]

Bro, you made my day. I laughed for so long and tears came to my eyes. I really don't blame you but I do blame our Education System and our state controlled press for a lost generation who have no clue what took place.

The Communist Party of Malaysia is not your neighbourhood 7-11 store. It just don't take some blurfuck in and teach him how to punch the cash register. It is one of the most successful organisation in this region. It gave the Japanese a bloody nose during the entire Japanese Occupation, joined forces with the British to bring Force 136 agents via subs and then waged a bloody war for 12 years against the British and then the Malaysia Govt. The authorities had to move entire villages, build new villages and bring in Canberra bombers amongst other things. They assassinated village chiefs, towkays, uninformed staff, utility workers etc. On a wider scale, they captured Russia, China, Vietnam, Korea and half of Europe.

And they called up Dr Poh to pop down to Masai and reminded him to bring along his passport. I am sure Dr Poh after that did one round of golf, went to seafood dinner, pumped cheaper petrol and drove back home.

And there you have it, end of speculation.

Mas Selamat if he had his passport would also have gone thru the Causeway using his own passport. Unlike Dr Poh was at the time placed under restrictive order not to leave the country, Mas Selamat did not have such orders as he was not released.

Simple fact is the passport...

Just produce it and it will end all this speculation