ELECTRIC NEWS
I've seen too much GRIEF during 2004 tsunami
Did she cause GRIEF by ordering killing?
S'pore woman linked to Phuket murder had helped tsunami victims there
By Low Ching Ling
March 11, 2009
SHE was among the many angels who lent a helping hand to the victims and family members of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Phuket.
TNP PICTURES: KELVIN CHNG
Today, Singaporean Diana Goh Li Fun is under arrest for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill Canadian property developer Francis Alex Degioanni, 34.
I first met Goh, then 27, in December 2004 when I was in Phuket to cover the tsunami.
She was the second Singaporean I had met at the Patong Hospital on my first night there.
Goh, who had been living in Phuket for four years, was a volunteer.
When I walked into the hospital's emergency room with my colleague, photojournalist Kelvin Chng, on 28 Dec that year, she welcomed us with a smile.
She was relieved to find out that we were journalists, and not Singaporeans who had lost loved ones.
'I've seen too many grieving people already,' she said in a distinctly Singaporean accent.
In the two days that she had volunteered at the hospital, Goh had seen enough grief and tragedy to last a lifetime.
Still, the plump and friendly woman said she felt obliged to help.
'I know some Singaporeans who went to the hospital to look for missing colleagues,' she told me. 'So I decided to help out here.'
Goh, who was fluent in Thai, had a name list of the casualties with her.
When I asked her if there were Singaporeans on the list, she pointed to two names.
FAMILY MAN: Mr Degioanni was a former model from Montreal, and he had lived in Thailand for nine years, where he had a girlfriend and a 3-year-old daughter.
Both were children - one survived, the other died.
'It's worse when they are kids,' lamented Goh, who added that she was not married.
But according to a Lianhe Wanbao report yesterday, Goh had married a man eight years her senior in 1999. The couple split up in 2002 because of personality differences. Their divorce was finalised five years later.
Goh's ex-husband told Wanbao that he had lost touch with her for some time and did not know who her friends were or what she was involved in.
When I met Goh, she told me she ran a real estate business, and that she worked as a nurse when she was living in Singapore.
A Phuket police spokesman told The New Paper yesterday that Goh was an independent real estate broker.
Our checks showed that a 'Diana Goh' is listed as one of two contact people for Andaman Consultants Property, which is located at Patong Beach.
One of the two handphone numbers listed on the website was the number Goh had given me in 2004.
But the number was not in use when we dialled it yesterday, and neither was the other handphone number listed on the website. When we called the office number, it went to a fax machine.
In shock
On the website, the company is listed as 'specialising in hotels, guesthouses, resorts and larger developments'. The company also claims to have 'beautifully landscaped hillside and level land plots with ocean views, new Thai-style homes, European-style homes, condominiums, and commercial buildings available for rental or purchase'.
In 2004, Goh was obviously affected by the tragedy unfolding around her.
'There have been too many of them. People come crying every day,' she said.
'Everyone is in shock.'
So, how did this angel of the fallen end up being accused of masterminding a murder?
According to Phuket police, her confession indicated that money was the motive.
She is reported to have said that she ordered the killing of Mr Degioanni as he had borrowed millions of baht from her and refused to pay her back as they had no written loan agreement.
She claimed she was saddled with monthly interest payments of around 100,000 baht ($4,300).
She allegedly borrowed 1.5 million baht from a friend in Singapore to hire professional hitmen to kill Mr Degioanni, whom she had known for six to seven years.
On Friday, Goh, clad in a pink shirt with stripes, and her five accomplices were paraded before the Thai media at a police news conference.
Throughout the conference, she looked down and covered her face with her long hair.
Kathu police superintendent Colonel Grissak Songmoonark said Goh had a Thai boyfriend and a child, but did not know how to contact them.
If found guilty of conspiring to kill Mr Degioanni, he said Goh could be jailed for several years.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok has contacted a member of Goh's family.
MFA said it will give her the needed consular assistance.
I've seen too much GRIEF during 2004 tsunami
Did she cause GRIEF by ordering killing?
S'pore woman linked to Phuket murder had helped tsunami victims there
By Low Ching Ling
March 11, 2009
SHE was among the many angels who lent a helping hand to the victims and family members of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Phuket.
TNP PICTURES: KELVIN CHNG
Today, Singaporean Diana Goh Li Fun is under arrest for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill Canadian property developer Francis Alex Degioanni, 34.
I first met Goh, then 27, in December 2004 when I was in Phuket to cover the tsunami.
She was the second Singaporean I had met at the Patong Hospital on my first night there.
Goh, who had been living in Phuket for four years, was a volunteer.
When I walked into the hospital's emergency room with my colleague, photojournalist Kelvin Chng, on 28 Dec that year, she welcomed us with a smile.
She was relieved to find out that we were journalists, and not Singaporeans who had lost loved ones.
'I've seen too many grieving people already,' she said in a distinctly Singaporean accent.
In the two days that she had volunteered at the hospital, Goh had seen enough grief and tragedy to last a lifetime.
Still, the plump and friendly woman said she felt obliged to help.
'I know some Singaporeans who went to the hospital to look for missing colleagues,' she told me. 'So I decided to help out here.'
Goh, who was fluent in Thai, had a name list of the casualties with her.
When I asked her if there were Singaporeans on the list, she pointed to two names.
FAMILY MAN: Mr Degioanni was a former model from Montreal, and he had lived in Thailand for nine years, where he had a girlfriend and a 3-year-old daughter.
Both were children - one survived, the other died.
'It's worse when they are kids,' lamented Goh, who added that she was not married.
But according to a Lianhe Wanbao report yesterday, Goh had married a man eight years her senior in 1999. The couple split up in 2002 because of personality differences. Their divorce was finalised five years later.
Goh's ex-husband told Wanbao that he had lost touch with her for some time and did not know who her friends were or what she was involved in.
When I met Goh, she told me she ran a real estate business, and that she worked as a nurse when she was living in Singapore.
A Phuket police spokesman told The New Paper yesterday that Goh was an independent real estate broker.
Our checks showed that a 'Diana Goh' is listed as one of two contact people for Andaman Consultants Property, which is located at Patong Beach.
One of the two handphone numbers listed on the website was the number Goh had given me in 2004.
But the number was not in use when we dialled it yesterday, and neither was the other handphone number listed on the website. When we called the office number, it went to a fax machine.
In shock
On the website, the company is listed as 'specialising in hotels, guesthouses, resorts and larger developments'. The company also claims to have 'beautifully landscaped hillside and level land plots with ocean views, new Thai-style homes, European-style homes, condominiums, and commercial buildings available for rental or purchase'.
In 2004, Goh was obviously affected by the tragedy unfolding around her.
'There have been too many of them. People come crying every day,' she said.
'Everyone is in shock.'
So, how did this angel of the fallen end up being accused of masterminding a murder?
According to Phuket police, her confession indicated that money was the motive.
She is reported to have said that she ordered the killing of Mr Degioanni as he had borrowed millions of baht from her and refused to pay her back as they had no written loan agreement.
She claimed she was saddled with monthly interest payments of around 100,000 baht ($4,300).
She allegedly borrowed 1.5 million baht from a friend in Singapore to hire professional hitmen to kill Mr Degioanni, whom she had known for six to seven years.
On Friday, Goh, clad in a pink shirt with stripes, and her five accomplices were paraded before the Thai media at a police news conference.
Throughout the conference, she looked down and covered her face with her long hair.
Kathu police superintendent Colonel Grissak Songmoonark said Goh had a Thai boyfriend and a child, but did not know how to contact them.
If found guilty of conspiring to kill Mr Degioanni, he said Goh could be jailed for several years.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok has contacted a member of Goh's family.
MFA said it will give her the needed consular assistance.
..... asking friends to organise the hit ? *duh* *bodoh*
