SINGAPORE : Singapore's most wanted gunman who shook the
republic with an execution-style slaying of a 41-year-old
businessman on February 15 has been handed over to Singapore
authorities by Malaysian police.
Tan Chor Jin, 39, was flown back in a Singapore Airlines flight
from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday evening.
Tan is alleged to have shot and killed nightclub owner Lim Hock
Soon at his home in Serangoon.
Notoriously known as "One Eye Dragon", the plane carrying Tan
touched down at about 6pm.
Tan was kept behind in the plane until all the passengers had
left.
As he is a wanted, high-profile criminal, he was escorted out of
the premises via a restricted route in unmarked police
vehicles.
Thirty minutes later, the entourage - one van and two cars -
arrived at CID Headquarters.
Channel NewsAsia understands Tan will be remanded for about a week
and he is expected to be charged in court with murder on
Friday.
Malaysian police say they decided to hand the suspect over to
Singapore authorities because they did not have enough evidence to
charge him with gun possession.
Mr Mustafa Abdullah, Deputy Commissioner of Police and City Police
Chief of Kuala Lumpur, says: "At the point we raided the room it
happen he was in another room. So the gun was in another room. So
we don't have enough evidence to prove in court to say that he was
in possession of gun at that point of time. So therefore it is
better for us, because of that technicality, we decided to hand him
over to Singapore straightaway for the murder case."
Earlier in the Malaysian city state at about 10am, Tan was brought
before the Sessions Judge Akhtar Tahir and Senior Deputy Public
Prosecutor P. Sarala Pillai to sought the court's assistance to
endorse the warrant of arrest.
Immediately after that, Tan was handed over to Singapore Police,
who left in an unmarked car.
Malaysian and Singapore police had an understanding to facilitate
each other in handing over wanted suspects by either country on the
condition that the warrant of arrest must be endorsed by a
magistrate or a Sessions Court judge.
Mr Mustafa says police have carried out further investigations on
Tan, revealing he is not wanted for any other criminal offence in
Malaysia.
Tan, two other men and three women were arrested after Malaysian
police raided a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur on February
25.
They seized six semi-automatic pistols, 203 rounds of ammunition
and four kilogrammes of ketamine drugs worth RM50,000.
Another Singaporean who was arrested along with Tan, Ngoi Yew Fatt,
is still detained by Malaysian police.
He is wanted in Singapore in connection with a murder in Yishun
last year.
Malaysian courts have extended the remand order on the Malaysian
man from Johor and the other wanted Singaporean - 42-year-old Ngoi
for seven more days to facilitate police investigations into
firearms and drug possesion offences.
The three women detained with them have been released on bail. -
CNA/de
