http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,198825,00.html?
Still no takers for store where Huang Na died
Landlord waives rental for 3 months, but to no avail
By Crystal Chan
April 14, 2009
VACANT: The storeroom where little Huang Na, 8, was suffocated by vegetable packer Took Leng How in 2004. TNP PICTURE: KENNETH KOH
THE storeroom in Block 15 at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre was where 8-year-old Huang Na was suffocated on 10 Oct 2004.
Now, in the fifth year since the schoolgirl from China was murdered by Malaysian vegetable packer Took Leng How, people still stay away from the room.
Tenants at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where stalls sell vegetables and dried goods, told The New Paper that nobody has rented the storeroom at Unit 01-44.
A worker who gave his name as Mr K S Tan, 50, said: 'How can people forget? The Huang Na murder was so sensational when it was reported in the media.
'I heard the landlord tried to find tenants, but to no avail.
To show that people have not forgotten the murder, Mr Tan, whom we met outside Block 15, pointed us to the unit.
Except for some sacks of dried food belonging to the neighbouring unit, there was no sign of activity at the unit. Its shutters were down.
At the time Huang Na was killed, Took's employer, Tan Kiam Tai Co, an importer and exporter of dried goods and vegetables, was renting the storeroom.
Tan Kiam Tai stored vegetables and dried goods in the room, which is about the size of a living room in a three-room HDB flat.
Took was seen there many times by workers in neighbouring outlets, loading and unloading goods.
Property Facilities Services, which manages the centre, could not be reached for comment.
Mr S H Koh, 53, a vegetable packer, said the landlord once tried to persuade someone who was looking for shop space to take the unit.
He said: 'The landlord even offered to waive the rent for the first three months but the negotiations still fell through. I guess the thought of renting a unit where someone was killed was just too much to bear.'
Mr Koh said that was in 2005, not long after Huang Na's body was found stuffed into a cardboard box in Telok Blangah Hill Park on 31 Oct 2004.
Took was hanged for murder on 3 Nov 2006.
The prospective tenant, identified only as Mr Xu, told Lianhe Wanbao that he declined to rent the unit as it was too far from his office in the wholesale centre.
Mr Xu said: 'I'm not superstitious so I'm not bothered with the history of the place. I just felt it was inconvenient for me to store my goods in that unit.'
Still talking about it
Another worker, who asked to be known as Mr Peng, 52, told The New Paper that when he arrived here from China in 2007, people were still talking about the murder.
He said: 'The other workers told me about the Huang Na murder and even pointed out the unit to me. It shows the memory of the incident is still fresh in people's minds.'
Mr Alvin Ong, 30, a vegetable packer at the centre, attributed potential tenants' refusal to rent the unit to the publicity surrounding the murder.
He said in Mandarin: 'Anyone working here at the time of the murder won't be able to forget it. When Huang Na was reported missing, the search was publicised and her mother's attempts to find her were covered in the media.
'Then, when it was confirmed that Huang Na was murdered, the incident became more sensational.'
Mr Ong was present when police officers brought Took to the scene for investigations on 5 Nov 2004.
He recalled: 'The whole thing was conspicuous as Took was dressed in white overalls, with a hood over his head and a surgical mask across his face.
'I was so excited that I called my girlfriend to tell her about it.'
Mr Ong said Tan Kiam Tai continued to use the space for a few days after the incident, before moving out.
Tan Kiam Tai's office is in Block 7. It could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mr Ong thinks the poor economy may also be a reason for the unit staying vacant.
He said: 'That unit isn't the only empty one here. With the recession worsening, I've seen more shop owners giving up their storerooms to cut costs.
'It seems there are more empty units now than before.'
Meanwhile, Took's wife, Madam Yuli, an Indonesian, has left the family's home in Penang, taking their son, Shunwang, with her, reported Lianhe Wanbao.
Madam Yuli returned to Indonesia during Chinese New Year last year, while her in-laws were vacationing in Genting Highlands.
She told her in-laws that she does not want to return to Penang, but they would be welcome to visit their grandson in Indonesia.
Still no takers for store where Huang Na died
Landlord waives rental for 3 months, but to no avail
By Crystal Chan
April 14, 2009
VACANT: The storeroom where little Huang Na, 8, was suffocated by vegetable packer Took Leng How in 2004. TNP PICTURE: KENNETH KOH
THE storeroom in Block 15 at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre was where 8-year-old Huang Na was suffocated on 10 Oct 2004.
Now, in the fifth year since the schoolgirl from China was murdered by Malaysian vegetable packer Took Leng How, people still stay away from the room.
Tenants at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where stalls sell vegetables and dried goods, told The New Paper that nobody has rented the storeroom at Unit 01-44.
A worker who gave his name as Mr K S Tan, 50, said: 'How can people forget? The Huang Na murder was so sensational when it was reported in the media.
'I heard the landlord tried to find tenants, but to no avail.
To show that people have not forgotten the murder, Mr Tan, whom we met outside Block 15, pointed us to the unit.
Except for some sacks of dried food belonging to the neighbouring unit, there was no sign of activity at the unit. Its shutters were down.
At the time Huang Na was killed, Took's employer, Tan Kiam Tai Co, an importer and exporter of dried goods and vegetables, was renting the storeroom.
Tan Kiam Tai stored vegetables and dried goods in the room, which is about the size of a living room in a three-room HDB flat.
Took was seen there many times by workers in neighbouring outlets, loading and unloading goods.
Property Facilities Services, which manages the centre, could not be reached for comment.
Mr S H Koh, 53, a vegetable packer, said the landlord once tried to persuade someone who was looking for shop space to take the unit.
He said: 'The landlord even offered to waive the rent for the first three months but the negotiations still fell through. I guess the thought of renting a unit where someone was killed was just too much to bear.'
Mr Koh said that was in 2005, not long after Huang Na's body was found stuffed into a cardboard box in Telok Blangah Hill Park on 31 Oct 2004.
Took was hanged for murder on 3 Nov 2006.
The prospective tenant, identified only as Mr Xu, told Lianhe Wanbao that he declined to rent the unit as it was too far from his office in the wholesale centre.
Mr Xu said: 'I'm not superstitious so I'm not bothered with the history of the place. I just felt it was inconvenient for me to store my goods in that unit.'
Still talking about it
Another worker, who asked to be known as Mr Peng, 52, told The New Paper that when he arrived here from China in 2007, people were still talking about the murder.
He said: 'The other workers told me about the Huang Na murder and even pointed out the unit to me. It shows the memory of the incident is still fresh in people's minds.'
Mr Alvin Ong, 30, a vegetable packer at the centre, attributed potential tenants' refusal to rent the unit to the publicity surrounding the murder.
He said in Mandarin: 'Anyone working here at the time of the murder won't be able to forget it. When Huang Na was reported missing, the search was publicised and her mother's attempts to find her were covered in the media.
'Then, when it was confirmed that Huang Na was murdered, the incident became more sensational.'
Mr Ong was present when police officers brought Took to the scene for investigations on 5 Nov 2004.
He recalled: 'The whole thing was conspicuous as Took was dressed in white overalls, with a hood over his head and a surgical mask across his face.
'I was so excited that I called my girlfriend to tell her about it.'
Mr Ong said Tan Kiam Tai continued to use the space for a few days after the incident, before moving out.
Tan Kiam Tai's office is in Block 7. It could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mr Ong thinks the poor economy may also be a reason for the unit staying vacant.
He said: 'That unit isn't the only empty one here. With the recession worsening, I've seen more shop owners giving up their storerooms to cut costs.
'It seems there are more empty units now than before.'
Meanwhile, Took's wife, Madam Yuli, an Indonesian, has left the family's home in Penang, taking their son, Shunwang, with her, reported Lianhe Wanbao.
Madam Yuli returned to Indonesia during Chinese New Year last year, while her in-laws were vacationing in Genting Highlands.
She told her in-laws that she does not want to return to Penang, but they would be welcome to visit their grandson in Indonesia.
