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CLEANER FINDS SEVERED FINGERS IN SCHOOL:
Sir, there's something strange here
By Arul John
August 23, 2008
CLEANERS are used to picking up after people's dirty habits. But a contract cleaner's day turned gruesome when he picked up parts of a person.
GRUESOME FIND: The driveway from the main gate of the school. Police were seen checking the grassy area on the left. TNP PICTURE: FRANCIS LEE
The cleaner, known only as Mr Ismail, found three fingers at a Bedok school compound yesterday.
The fingers are believed to have been cut off in a parang attack on an 18-year-old in the area four days earlier.
Mr Ismail, who is in his 60s, was cleaning a grass verge within the compound of CHIJ Katong Convent Primary School when he saw the fingers, just before noon.
School principal Margaret Tan told The New Paper that the verge was beside a gate that opens from the school to the HDB blocks outside.
Mr Ismail did not immediately realise that he had found human fingers.
The school's operations manager, who gave his name only as Mr Ho, said: 'Mr Ismail calmly came to the general office and told me he had found something unusual in the grass.
'When I went to have a look, I saw three human fingers in the grass. I told Mr Ismail to continue his work and called the police.'
Mrs Tan said Mr Ho informed her of the discovery after he called the police.
When The New Paper team reached the school around 1pm, we saw three severed fingers on a drain grating close to where Mr Ismail found them.
They looked like they were turning brown. They were later covered with a plastic container before being taken away by police for examination.
It was unlikely that the fingers could be re-attached to the victim's hand because of the likely lapsed time and their rotting state.
Attempts to reach Mr Ismail were unsuccessful.
Most of the students The New Paper spoke to said they were unaware of his find as they were in class at the time.
The fingers are believed to be from the right hand of Muhammad Raihan Massba, who was attacked by four men with parangs at the void deck of Block 401, Bedok North Avenue 3 at 11.45pm on Sunday.
Minute's Walk
The attack occurred less than a minute's walk from a fence that surrounds the school.
It is not known how the fingers landed behind the fence.
Muhammad Raihan, 18, is believed to have used his right hand to defend himself when his attackers aimed for his face and severed his fingers.
Berita Harian reported that Muhammad Raihan's mother, who did not want to be named, said he and two friends were having dinner at Block 110, Bedok North Road that night.
Met Friends
She said Muhammad Raihan later received a telephone call from friends and went to Block 401 to meet them.
When Muhammad Raihan did not return, his dinner companions went to look for him. They found him unconscious and bloodied.
She did not know why Muhammad Raihan was attacked. She described him as easy-going, with many friends.
Muhammad Raihan also suffered a fractured jaw from the attack. He was initially taken to Changi General Hospital and warded in its Surgical Intensive Care Unit.
He was transferred to Singapore General Hospital yesterday.
When we visited him there, he was asleep and his right hand was bandaged.
Police spokesman Danny Tan said a youth in his late teens was arrested on Wednesday in connection with an incident of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon Sunday.
He said the youth was charged in court for the offence yesterday.
