Jan 13, 2011
Beer brawl death: Man an 'eccentric'
Roommate says he was known for his alcohol habit
By Elizabeth Soh
The rental flat that the late Mr Heng, 70, shared with a roommate. Police have arrested a 57-year-old man in connection with his death. -- ST PHOTO: NURIA LING
THE rag-and-bone man who died following a brawl over a mug of beer in People's Park this week was known among his neighbours for his eccentricities and drinking habit.
Mr Heng Teck Hong, 70, made a little money selling recyclables he collected; he also got welfare handouts and $200 a month from his niece, said his roommate of 10 years, Mr Goh Ah Seng, a 60-year-old cleaner.
'Ah Heng was a man who just did whatever he felt like doing and lived by the day. He did not have a schedule, only that he had to have his ABC Stout every day,' said Mr Goh.
Mr Heng's needs were simple, he said. Lunch and dinner were packaged meals from the Thye Hwa Kwan Moral Society - delivered daily.
What little money he had went into beer and cigarettes at the People's Park food centre.
It was there that he apparently took a swig of beer from someone else's mug on Tuesday, for which witnesses said he was punched.
It is believed he fell and injured his head.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police have arrested a 57- year-old man in connection with Mr Heng's death.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
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