Man stabbed to death in robbery at Bukit Batok forest
The New Paper
Thursday, Jan 24, 2013
SINGAPORE - A Bangladeshi worker died after he was robbed and stabbed in a forested area in Bukit Batok on Sunday.
Although he stumbled out of the forest to seek help for his numerous stab wounds, he later died in hospital.
The 44-year-old man, who was covered in blood, managed to tell a passer-by what had happened before he lost consciousness, Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday.
He was apparently confronted by a group of robbers at about 3pm. They forced him into the forested area off Bukit Batok Road where they robbed and stabbed him.
The police received a call requesting for assistance at about 3.20pm and found the injured man upon arrival.
A Singapore Civil Defence Force ambulance took the man to the National University Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 5.27pm that day.
The police have classified the case as an unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.
Shin Min reported that the man had to be identified through his fingerprints as there were no identification documents on him.
The Chinese language evening daily also said that the police searched the area for about 14 hours following the incident, stopping only at about 5am on Monday.
More than 30 police officers, including forensic officers, were seen at the location, and an area as large as a football field was cordoned off. Armed with flashlights and other lighting devices, the officers combed the forested area and reportedly collected four bags of evidence, including a 10cm-long knife, which appeared to have bloodstains on it. It is believed to have been used during the attack.
The culprits, who are thought to be foreign workers, are still at large, reported Shin Min.
Two of them apparently fled into the forested area after the crime.
There are a few workers' dormitories in the area, and police officers carried out investigations there on Sunday night.
This is not the first time that a crime has taken place in the forested area.
In March last year, 26 men and seven women were arrested there on suspicion of being involved in illegal prostitution.
Police officers from Jurong Police Division raided the area after receiving a tip-off, it was reported.
The suspects, aged between 18 and 49, were arrested for unauthorised entry into state-owned land.
In April 2010, the police arrested 27 foreign nationals - 21 men and six women - for immigration and vice-related offences. The suspects, aged 22 to 51, were of various nationalities.
When The New Paper visited the scene from 6pm to 8pm on Monday, there were few people in the secluded area.
These were mostly foreign workers leaving or returning to their dormitories, as well as the occasional jogger or cyclist passing through.
Although there are bus stops on both sides of the road, hardly anyone was waiting for a bus while the TNP team was there.
The only people at one bus stop were two construction workers, who had just finished work and were waiting for a lorry to take them back to their dormitories.
Shocked
When this reporter told them what had happened, the Indian nationals were shocked.
One of them, Mr Murugesan Mooventhan, 23, said: "I didn't think something like that would happen in Singapore.
"But my boss has told me before to be careful and keep an eye on my valuables at all times."
His colleague, Mr Kamaldeep, 28, said: "I'm going to ask our company to pick us up from the bus stop on the opposite side of the road from now on."
Chinese national Wu Jia Pen, 24, who was walking out from his dormitory, said he was aware of the area's history.
Said the electrician: "Maybe people are more 'daring' in this area because they know fewer people are in it.
"But if I need help, I will cry out and I'm sure there will be someone who will hear me."
As darkness set in, the number of passers-by got even fewer.
Although the street lights came on, the forested area still appeared dark and foreboding.
Singaporean Norman Awang, 33, who jogs regularly in the area, said: "It is generally safe. But of course, you need to be sensible and not walk in areas that are too dark."
Added the civil servant: "Generally, I stay on the pathways that have fewer trees and are brighter."
The forested area is about 5km from the Bukit Batok Nature Park, which itself was the scene of two deaths.
In 2008, the decomposed body of a female property agent was found there.
She had been killed by Rosli Yassin, now 52, who claimed she owed him money. He had punched her repeatedly in the head and face.
When she threatened to call the police, he snatched her phone and struck her on the head repeatedly until she fell.
He carried her to the bottom of a slope and left her there to die.
Rosli was jailed for 12 years after admitting to culpable homicide as well as cheating, theft, criminal breach of trust and abetting forgery.
Last week, he was sentenced to 20 years' preventive detention following an appeal by the prosecution for the maximum term.
Another woman was brutally raped when she was jogging at the park in 2000.
She was found in a ravine after a passer-by heard her cries. She died a week after the attack.
The rapist is still at large.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
The New Paper
Thursday, Jan 24, 2013
SINGAPORE - A Bangladeshi worker died after he was robbed and stabbed in a forested area in Bukit Batok on Sunday.
Although he stumbled out of the forest to seek help for his numerous stab wounds, he later died in hospital.
The 44-year-old man, who was covered in blood, managed to tell a passer-by what had happened before he lost consciousness, Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday.
He was apparently confronted by a group of robbers at about 3pm. They forced him into the forested area off Bukit Batok Road where they robbed and stabbed him.
The police received a call requesting for assistance at about 3.20pm and found the injured man upon arrival.
A Singapore Civil Defence Force ambulance took the man to the National University Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 5.27pm that day.
The police have classified the case as an unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.
Shin Min reported that the man had to be identified through his fingerprints as there were no identification documents on him.
The Chinese language evening daily also said that the police searched the area for about 14 hours following the incident, stopping only at about 5am on Monday.
More than 30 police officers, including forensic officers, were seen at the location, and an area as large as a football field was cordoned off. Armed with flashlights and other lighting devices, the officers combed the forested area and reportedly collected four bags of evidence, including a 10cm-long knife, which appeared to have bloodstains on it. It is believed to have been used during the attack.
The culprits, who are thought to be foreign workers, are still at large, reported Shin Min.
Two of them apparently fled into the forested area after the crime.
There are a few workers' dormitories in the area, and police officers carried out investigations there on Sunday night.
This is not the first time that a crime has taken place in the forested area.
In March last year, 26 men and seven women were arrested there on suspicion of being involved in illegal prostitution.
Police officers from Jurong Police Division raided the area after receiving a tip-off, it was reported.
The suspects, aged between 18 and 49, were arrested for unauthorised entry into state-owned land.
In April 2010, the police arrested 27 foreign nationals - 21 men and six women - for immigration and vice-related offences. The suspects, aged 22 to 51, were of various nationalities.
When The New Paper visited the scene from 6pm to 8pm on Monday, there were few people in the secluded area.
These were mostly foreign workers leaving or returning to their dormitories, as well as the occasional jogger or cyclist passing through.
Although there are bus stops on both sides of the road, hardly anyone was waiting for a bus while the TNP team was there.
The only people at one bus stop were two construction workers, who had just finished work and were waiting for a lorry to take them back to their dormitories.
Shocked
When this reporter told them what had happened, the Indian nationals were shocked.
One of them, Mr Murugesan Mooventhan, 23, said: "I didn't think something like that would happen in Singapore.
"But my boss has told me before to be careful and keep an eye on my valuables at all times."
His colleague, Mr Kamaldeep, 28, said: "I'm going to ask our company to pick us up from the bus stop on the opposite side of the road from now on."
Chinese national Wu Jia Pen, 24, who was walking out from his dormitory, said he was aware of the area's history.
Said the electrician: "Maybe people are more 'daring' in this area because they know fewer people are in it.
"But if I need help, I will cry out and I'm sure there will be someone who will hear me."
As darkness set in, the number of passers-by got even fewer.
Although the street lights came on, the forested area still appeared dark and foreboding.
Singaporean Norman Awang, 33, who jogs regularly in the area, said: "It is generally safe. But of course, you need to be sensible and not walk in areas that are too dark."
Added the civil servant: "Generally, I stay on the pathways that have fewer trees and are brighter."
The forested area is about 5km from the Bukit Batok Nature Park, which itself was the scene of two deaths.
In 2008, the decomposed body of a female property agent was found there.
She had been killed by Rosli Yassin, now 52, who claimed she owed him money. He had punched her repeatedly in the head and face.
When she threatened to call the police, he snatched her phone and struck her on the head repeatedly until she fell.
He carried her to the bottom of a slope and left her there to die.
Rosli was jailed for 12 years after admitting to culpable homicide as well as cheating, theft, criminal breach of trust and abetting forgery.
Last week, he was sentenced to 20 years' preventive detention following an appeal by the prosecution for the maximum term.
Another woman was brutally raped when she was jogging at the park in 2000.
She was found in a ravine after a passer-by heard her cries. She died a week after the attack.
The rapist is still at large.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
