Constable, who shot himself in the head, owed $40k

Jun 28, 2011

Constable, who shot himself in the head, owed $40k

By Khushwant Singh

An Auxiliary police officer, found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in a toilet in Jurong in 2010, had harboured thoughts of ending his life prematurely, a coroner inquiry heard on Tuesday. -- PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

AN AUXILIARY police officer, found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in a toilet in Jurong in 2010, had harboured thoughts of ending his life prematurely, a coroner inquiry heard on Tuesday.

Investigations into the death revealed that Aetos police constable Lee Kong Beng, 39, owed nearly $40,000 in phone bills, bank loans and furniture purchases.

About two weeks before the shooting, he confided in a friend that his financial burden was so heavy he wanted to 'pop' himself. The other man advised the officer against shooting himself. Mr Lee, who is married with a son, had been working with security firm Aetos since May 2008.

Colleagues said that he appeared normal during his shift at the Tuas checkpoint from 12.30am to 3pm on May 31 2010. But while standing in a line to return weapons to the armoury in the Aetos office in Corporation Road, he was heard to have muttered, 'I cannot take it any more', before heading to the toilet.

Moments later, a shot rang out. He was found lying face-up on the floor of a toilet cubicle. Blood was pouring from a head wound and his service revolver, a 0.38 Smith & Wesson, was clutched in his left hand.

On the suicide note found on him, he had scrawled that he was sorry for what he had done. 'By doing so, I will no longer bring further burden and suffering to myself,' he wrote.

In his findings, State Coroner Victor Yeo said that Mr Lee - who had expressed suicidal intentions - died of a self-inflicted gunshot. Although investigations did not reveal why Mr Lee was in debt, earlier newspaper reports indicated that he was an avid football punter.

AETOS police constable who shot himself heavily in debt
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 28 June 2011 1816 hrs
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SINGAPORE : A police constable with AETOS, who was about S$40,000 in debt and had often joked about shooting himself if he couldn't settle it, eventually did so in a toilet at Corporation Road, last year.

In the Coroner's Court on Tuesday, State Coroner Victor Yeo found that 38-year-old Lee Kong Beng died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from his service revolver on 31 May 2010.

Investigations revealed that Lee, who had been working with AETOS for about two years, did not show any signs of distress when he reported for duty at Tuas Immigration Checkpoint that day.

After his shift ended, he was transported back to AETOS Jurong station at 500 Corporation Road, to return his service revolver at the armoury.

Lee, who was queuing in line to do so, turned around and left the queue for the toilet.

Soon after, 33-year-old Mohd Azman, a police officer, heard a loud bang when he was changing inside the locker room next to the toilet.

Azman rushed there and detected a very strong smell of gun powder.

He also saw blood seeping out from the second cubicle.

Azman got help from staff sergeant, V Selvaraj, and they forced open the cubicle door to find Lee lying inside, with his left hand holding onto his service revolver.

Investigations also revealed a handwritten note found in his right front pants pocket, where he said he was depressed and had chosen to end his life.

The court also heard that Lee had on several occasions joked to his mother that he would commit suicide, either by jumping or by shooting himself, if he was unable to pay off his debts.

This worried his family initially, but they later believed he was not serious about taking his own life and stopped assisting him financially before his death.

- CNA /ls