Man dies after fight in Chin Swee Road; 2 men to be charged with murder
Published Nov 08, 2025, 01:13 PM
Updated Nov 08, 2025, 08:52 PM
The police had cordoned off the crime scene by the time The Straits Times arrived at the scene.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Aqil Hamzah
and
Claudia Tan
www.straitstimes.com
SINGAPORE – A 56-year-old man died in hospital after a fight in Chin Swee Road early on Nov 8, with two men slated to be charged with murder on Nov 9.
In response to queries, the police said they received a call for assistance at Block 51 Chin Swee Road at about 3.10am.
When they arrived, the man was found lying injured outside his flat, and was unconscious when he was taken to hospital. He is believed to have been living on the 17th floor.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said he was taken to Singapore General Hospital.
Three men were arrested following the fight, including the duo slated to face murder charges.
Bloodstains on the 17th floor of Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
The two murder suspects are aged 58 and 59 and are known to each other, the police said in a press statement on Nov 8. The 59-year-old man was also arrested for drug-related offences, which will be referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau.
The third man, aged 36, had been arrested for affray and is assisting with investigations. He is a friend of the dead man, the police said.
Glass shards on the 17th floor of Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Preliminary investigations showed that the four people were involved in a dispute, which resulted in a fight.
One of the suspects allegedly stabbed the 56-year-old man during the fight, the police said in the press statement. Two knives were recovered and seized.
Police officers taking evidence from a flat on the 19th floor of Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
According to information on the Housing Board’s website, the residential block comprises rental flats. Based on checks on property portal EdgeProp, the building has 328 units, all of which are one-room flats.
When The Straits Times arrived at the block at about 1.45pm, the police had cordoned off portions of the 15th to 19th floors.
A flat with a police lock on the 17th floor of Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Mr Yeow, 54, a resident who lives in the unit opposite the dead man’s flat, said he does not know much about the man, but described him as friendly.
“I would see him at the lift lobby in the morning and we would greet each other,” said Mr Yeow, who declined to give his full name.
Resident Chua Chai Thiam, 67, who lives on the 15th floor, said he heard a group of men shouting between 1am and 2am on Nov 8.
He said he did not recognise anyone in the group. “It was quite scary. I’ve lived here for over 10 years and I have never seen anything like this before,” he said.
Another resident, 47-year-old Suresh, who lives on the 17th floor, said he heard two men hurling Hokkien profanities at each other at about 2am.
“It was very noisy, they sounded very angry,” he said, adding that he thought it was a family dispute.
Another resident, who lives on the 15th floor with her grandparents, said she first heard yelling around 1.50am, and again around 3am.
The 18-year-old, who declined to be named, said she called the police after she heard a “distressed cry”, adding that she heard a man crying.
Police officers examining the crime scene at Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
At about 2pm, police officers were seen placing evidence markers next to bloodstains along the 19th-floor corridor.
Police officers examining the crime scene at Block 51 Chin Swee Road.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
At about 6pm, cleaners arrived to wash away bloodstains along the 17th-floor corridor.
At about 6pm, cleaners arrived to wash the bloodstains along the 17th-floor corridor.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
This is the sixth reported murder in 2025 and comes barely two weeks after an Indonesian national allegedly
killed his wife in a Chinatown hotel room
. She is believed to have been stabbed.
Knife-related incidents were noted by the police to have
increased in the first half of the year
, compared with the same period in 2024.
Their mid-year crime brief, released on Aug 26, showed there were 75 knife-related incidents, up from 59 in the first half of 2024.
In general, physical crime had risen, with 10,341 cases reported from January to June, marking a 5.4 per cent increase from the 9,809 cases reported during the same period the previous year.
- Additional reporting by Nadine Chua
