Mystery on York Hill

[Windsorlou]

Mystery on York Hill

Block 12 York Hill- home to victim, Mr Lim Lay Hock, who was found badly injured and unconscious in his unit by his flatmate on the night of December 7.

Elizabeth Law, Wee Jing Long, Ronald Loh
The New Paper
Sunday, Dec 29, 2013

SINGAPORE- His flatmate found him lying unconscious on the floor of their rental flat on Dec 7 and called for an ambulance.

It was only at the Singapore General Hospital that it was discovered that Mr Lim Lay Hock, 60, had a broken collarbone, a fractured rib, which had punctured his lung, and head injuries, his daughter said.

By then, he was in a coma. He died without regaining consciousness nearly two weeks later, on Dec 20.

But it remains a mystery how Mr Lim ended up in such a state.

In a Facebook post last Sunday, his daughter, Fion, 31, wrote that she believes her father was the victim of a violent robbery and appealed for eyewitnesses to help her find her father's killer.

"To the robber who assaulted my dad and caused his death, I really don't understand how you can beat up a 60-year-old man so severely and live the rest of your life," wrote the oldest of his three children.

The family believes Mr Lim was robbed on Dec 7 around the York Hill estate, near Chin Swee Road in Outram, where he shared a one-room rental flat with a man in his 70s.

Ms Lim told Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao that she discovered that more than $30,000 of her father's valuables were missing only after she found out about his injuries.

They included his Rolex watch, a gold chain and a gold bracelet.

"It will be good if you can educate your old folks not to wear valuables when they are out alone," she wrote on Facebook.

MADE HIS WAY HOME

After separating from his wife, Mr Lim moved into the rental flat in Block 12, York Hill, about 10 months ago, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

Ms Lim also believes that after her father was attacked and robbed, he did not want to call for an ambulance and instead managed to make his way home.

It is believed that he passed out upon reaching home and his flatmate found him only on the afternoon of Dec 7. He was then taken to hospital.

Ms Lim wrote on her Facebook post that her father's injuries triggered a heart attack and a stroke. He also contracted pneumonia before he died.

Her advice to others who have been robbed, as well as to their loved ones: "Go (to) hospital and call police immediately after being attacked because it's easy to underestimate the injuries."

Several attempts to contact Ms Lim for comments were unsuccessful. Attempts to speak to Mr Lim's flatmate were also fruitless. (See report on right.)

Responding to queries from The New Paper, the police said that the incident was reported on Dec 9 at about 6.30am.

From preliminary investigations, the case has been classified as an incident of "natural death".

A police spokesman said: "Investigations to ascertain if the deceased was a victim of crime prior to his demise are ongoing, although there is no evidence to suggest so thus far."

Anyone with information on the case can contact the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit the information online at www.spf.gov.sg/CrimeStopper.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

 

[Windsorlou]

Neighbour: Man kept to himself

Elizabeth Law, Ronald Loh, Wee Jing Long
The New Paper
Sunday, Dec 29, 2013

SINGAPORE- A neighbour who lived two units from Mr Lim Lay Hock on the sixth storey thought that he was poor because he slept on the floor with his belongings next to him.

But Mr Lim's flatmate told her that this was not the case, said the neighbour who wanted to be known only as Madam Chia.

The 70-year-old part-time hawker assistant, who has lived in York Hill - an estate of rental flats in Tiong Bahru - for 16 years, said she often shared groceries with the flatmate.

She said that when she visited their flat earlier this year, she noticed that Mr Lim's clothes and belonging were on the floor.

"I thought he was poor and offered to give him a picnic mat to sleep on," she told The New Paper yesterday evening.

"But his flatmate told me he was not poor - he just insisted on sleeping on the floor."

Mr Lim and his flatmate moved in less than a year ago and were quiet individuals who kept to themselves, she said.

A fourth-storey resident, Mr Joe Ahmad, 40, said the neighbourhood was "scary" until surveillance cameras were installed about two years ago.

"There were frequent fights downstairs among drunk men, mostly in their 30s and 40s," said Mr Ahmad, who has lived in the estate for close to 10 years.

"There was even a stabbing incident in 2007 or 2008."

While Mr Lim's daughter believes he was fatally attacked by a robber, some residents feel their neighbourhood is safe.

One of them, Mr Xu Han Guo, 52, who has lived there for 45 years, said in Mandarin: "I don't feel threatened when I walk around the estate.

"About 10 to 20 years ago, it was unsafe. I once saw a woman being molested in the lift by two men. But it's no longer like that."

He, however, feels the estate is "too quiet, especially in the afternoons".

"There is only one shop in our neighbourhood. There isn't a coffee shop where people can gather. So in the afternoon, you hardly see anyone around."

Madam Sapiah, 55, a school canteen stall operator who has lived in York Hill for four years, has no worries when taking walks with her grandson.

"Sometimes I find urine at the void deck, but that's about the worst I've seen here," she said.

"The estate may be a bit dirty, but it's definitely not dangerous."

A shopkeeper who declined to be named, said the police have stepped up patrols in the neighbourhood since the incident.

"Policemen have been coming by my shop and asking me if things are all right," she said in Mandarin.

"I've operated this shop for 40 years and I've never had any trouble."

When TNP went to Mr Lim's flat yesterday evening, the gate was padlocked with a chain and no one answered the door. Earlier in the afternoon, an elderly man opened the door, but slammed it on finding out that the visitor was a reporter.

I thought he was poor and offered to give him a picnic mat to sleep on... But his flatmate told me he was not poor - he just insisted on sleeping on the floor.