A man who broke into a Choa Chua Kang temple to pilfer valuables but ended up killing a temple helper was sentenced to 12 years in jail and six strokes of the cane yesterday. Loh Suan Lit, who crept into the Choa Chu Kang Combined Temple on Teck Whye Lane in the wee hours of Feb 14, 2016, apparently panicked when he was caught by Tan Poh Huat, who slept on the premises, The Straits Times reported.
Taking place between 2:30am and 3:10am, the incident saw 49-year-old Loh repeatedly hitting the 53-year-old with a tool from his backpack, causing him to suffer a whopping 93 external injuries all over his body, including fractures to his skull, jaw, and nose, as well as a burst eyeball. An autopsy report revealed that most of his bruises and wounds appeared to be inflicted by a hammer, TODAY said.
ST noted that the weapon Loh used could not be established, as he told investigators he could not remember the details of the assault. Initially charged with murder, Loh pleaded guilty to one count of culpable homicide.
According to Channel NewsAsia, Loh was jobless and struggling to make ends meet when he plotted to steal the gold chains on religious statues and the money from donation boxes in the temple. He bought tools including a saw, chisel, and hammer, and stashed them in a black backpack, which contained gloves, surgical masks, a cap, and clothes as well.
Arriving at the temple on Feb 13, Loh soon realized it was too crowded for him to make off with the loot unnoticed, so he waited it out at a nearby coffee shop where he took some pills to “get high” and watched a football match.
Loh returned to the temple at 2:30am wearing a black t-shirt, a cap, and a surgical mask. After he broke in, he walked across the space and tried to open locked doors with his tools to get to the valuables. But when he realized the ruckus he was causing, he decided to quit and leave empty-handed.
That was when Tan’s shout of “Oi!” startled Loh and he bludgeoned the victim until he was unconscious. Loh got rid of his tools later that day.
Tan’s body was found in a pool of blood around 7am, while Loh escaped to Malaysia on Feb 19, but he was arrested when he returned to Singapore on Feb 24. By then, his identity had been established through CCTV footage in the temple vicinity and nearby HDBs.
In a twist, CNA noted that the High Court heard both men were actually acquaintances who met in 2008 over a game of mahjong. But the friendship was not meant to be, as Tan borrowed S$200 from Loh, only to refuse to pay him back when they next bumped into each other in 2016.
High Court Judge Chua Lee Ming said Loh’s attack on the victim was “not premeditated” and that he “panicked” when he was spotted in the temple. But he also described the assault as “both brutal and vicious”.
In an unrelated case, Loh was slapped with a two-year jail sentence in addition to his 12-year one for breaking into a food stall at Beauty World Shopping Centre and swiping cash and jewelry worth over S$800.
Loh’s total jail sentence of 14 years started from his date of remand on Feb 26, 2016. For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he could have been sentenced to life imprisonment and caning, or up to 20 years in jail and caning.
