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Perhaps, the greatest unsolved Mystery in S'pore!
Every year, a few hundred people are reported missing in Singapore.
Some make themselves vanish for obvious reasons like rogue lawyer Razif, who scooted off with money belonging to his rich client...more than 12 $ million. There are countless others all with "good" reasons to abscond and hope never to be found ...especially by the law.
Then there are those who run away from home for whatever reasons...overly strict parents, harassed by loansharks, for the sheer adventure of freedom and cheap thrill, to indulge in their wrong activities like drugs, prostitution...etc.
Some missing persons may be impaired by health, age or other impairments.
The worst case scenario is that the missing person may be the victim of a crime...abduction, kidnapping, murder.
Singapore has seen its fair share of such cases. Most of those reported missing were eventually found...some without harm, others with horrid tales to tell.
Many have never been seen or heard of again.
It is as though they have simply vanished from the face of the earth without a trace! No clues, no witnesses, no evidence were left behind when they vanished.
One particular case that had witnesses, had clues and some clear leads got an entire nation mystified. It happened a long time ago at the Singapore Harbour. If I remember correctly, about 5-6 social escorts, all females, were booked by a group of foreigners whose ship was in the outer roads. The boat picked them up and delivered them to that ship for a "party" on board. Sometime in the night, that ship sailed away with all these social escorts and by dawn the next morning..the ship and the ladies have all disappeared from Singapore waters. Over many years, all kinds of reports were received about the "fate" of these ladies. The most oft repeated ones were that they have been sold as sex slaves to some middle east country.
I am certain some of my older readers would recall this case of abduction. It made headline news then and remained an unsolved mystery till this day.
None of the ladies were ever found.
However, for me personally, the most mystifying case of all is the case dubbed by the press as the " Macdonald kids". That was because Macdonald was so moved by the heart-breaking and heart-rending story of the disappearance of 2 Primary school boys, in broad daylight!
They offered a reward of $ 100,000 for information.
As far as I know, the reward has never been claimed.
What really happened in that case?
Photo: The S Times news cutting 15 June 1990
The year was 1986. The month May. The date 14.
Two close friends and classmates were last seen walking together to school.
They were both 12 years old and Primary 6 students of Owen Primary School.
Toh Hong Huat and Keh Chin Ann were just ordinary school boys who came from very humble
background.
When I first heard the news about this case, I was emotionally affected. One of them was just living opposite my block ( my old home in T P) and I had seen him before as a little kid growing up.
School was just a short walk away. At 12.30 pm, they were last seen together. Then suddenly...never again till this day! Their books and bags were left near a tree.
NO ONE ...yes, not one soul around that spot, saw anything that could help the police to solve
the case. Kidnap? They were not rich. No ransom ever asked for.
Abduction for criminal purpose? Adrian Lim ,the infamous hanged murderer who raped, sodomised women and killed even little kids, was at that time behind bars awaiting trial.
The police posted pictures of them in public places.
The parents of the 2 boys consulted more than 30 mediums for "special" help...all to no avail.
As the years passed by, the police updated their info on what they would likely look like.
In 2004, Mediacorps covered their story in the new programme "MISSING".
If they are still alive today, Hong Huat and Chin Ann would be about 35 years old.