Singapore Police like to silence the media to make
themselves look good.
Singapore
police should uphold the law LESS by dirty tactics, unnecessary
threats and coercion and MORE by gaining the public's
trust.
I
would like to know why, in excess of 2.5years after the tragic
death of Miss Ee and even after the court had sentenced Tan Hui
Zhen and husband Pua, Miss Ee's collegues were still warned by
police "not to share any details".
Are
there any other guilty parties not investigated/ charged by the
police, do the police like to silence the press so that they can
take their OWN SWEET TIME to investigate cases, are the police
AFRAID that their own investigative skills pale in comparison to
the internet or news media?
Unless
the police have good reason to temporarily ban witnesses from
talking to the press or have a court order banning the revelation
of names for instance when a father rapes his own child which may
have repercussions to the child in school/later life, I don't think
the police have any business shutting witnesses up or censoring the
news just so that they can solve criminal cases earlier or before
coffeeshop uncles know more.
In
this case, the crime was obvious and the suspects came clean, so
why was there any need to silence witnesses or the
media.
A
more productive and efficient police force is achieved by better
attention to witnesses and trust by witnesses that information
surrendered would serve a good cause. Witness silencing only serves
to sweep the issue of crime and injustice underground and like
lipstick on a pig, only serves to silence news media and DECEIVE
the public that the police are doing the right
job.
The
Singapore Police force should stop such cloak and dagger operations
because silencing the media does not help them do a better job nor
aid the cause of justice when their dirty bag of tricks are
revealed.
High
time the anti-competition commission of Singapore investigate the
SPF for the anti-competitive and media silencing dirty tricks they
use to look good.
=================
Eight
months of beatings that ended in death.
1 of
4
From
top: Miss Annie Ee first met Tan Hui Zhen when they were teenagers
and they rekindled their friendship in 2013. Estranged from her
family, Miss Ee moved into Tan and husband Pua Hak Chuan's
four-room Woodlands flat in late 2013. Investigators
ou
Investigators
outside the Woodlands flat where Miss Ee's body was found. An
autopsy report revealed she had 12 fractured ribs, seven fractured
vertebrae, a ruptured stomach and a body crowded with blisters and
bruises.ST PHOTO: NG WUI KUEK
PUBLISHED:
DEC 3, 2017,
The
abuse, which increased in intensity, made it difficult for her to
walk, stand and breathe
Tan
Tam Mei
She
could barely breathe because of her fractured ribs and was unable
to stay awake as she was weak from daily beatings and open wounds,
but Miss Annie Ee knew she was in for more
punishment.
The
weapon - a roll of shrink wrap weighing 1kg that her abusers knew
she feared - was placed next to the woman she called "jie jie"
(meaning older sister in Chinese).
Her
"jie jie", Tan Hui Zhen, and husband Pua Hak Chuan, whom she called
"jie fu" (meaning brother-in-law in Chinese), had returned that
evening to find Miss Ee, 26, lying in her own
urine.
They
accused her of urinating on the floor to get attention. While she
lay slumped in a chair from exhaustion, the couple decided to
punish her for her "bad attitude".
It
would be the last round of beatings Miss Ee, who was intellectually
disabled, would suffer before dying in her sleep hours later in the
early morning of Apr il 13, 2015.
She
was hit repeatedly by the shrink wrap and fell to the floor, but
even the sight of her on the ground inching towards her room did
not stop her abusers. Pua continued to hit her legs, abdomen and
buttocks, which already had open wounds and
blisters.
SIGNS
OF INJURY
Once,
she said she had been beaten by a colleague, so I told her to tell
her manager or call the police. The other times, she said she fell,
but I did wonder how it was possible that she could fall so
often.
RETIREE
XU WEI JIAN, on asking Miss Ee about the bruises she had around her
eyes.
Pua
then picked up a plastic dustbin and smashed it down on Miss Ee
with such force the bin cracked.
Earlier
that day, she had tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrists,
having felt "useless" when she could not carry out Tan's
instructions.
She
was found dead in bed the next day.
Miss
Ee first met Tan when they were teenagers and they rekindled their
friendship in 2013.
Estranged
from her family, Miss Ee moved into Tan and Pua's four-room
Woodlands flat in late 2013 and was given housework to
do.
Over
the eight months of abuse - from August 2014 until her death - Miss
Ee started showing up for her waitressing job with bruises on her
body, arms, face and neck.
The
beatings and their increased intensity over time, with some
sessions lasting up to two hours, meant she had difficulty walking,
standing and breathing. She also became
incontinent.
The
couple made Miss Ee surrender her salary of $1,200, from which she
was given a weekly allowance of $50. This was later cut to
$30.
When The Sunday Times visited Miss Ee's former workplaces,
ex-colleagues declined to comment and said they had been told by
the police not to share any details.
However,
court documents revealed they had noticed that Miss Ee would hide
her injuries by applying a thick layer of concealer, letting her
hair down and wearing a cap. She would keep mum when questioned,
but on one occasion, had told an assistant manager "my family",
when asked about the injuries.
An
autopsy report revealed the extent of abuse she suffered: 12
fractured ribs, seven fractured vertebrae, a ruptured stomach and a
body crowded with blisters and bruises. The report also said she
died of acute fat embolism. She had been beaten so severely that
fatty tissue below the skin had separated from the muscle and
entered her bloodstream, interfering with blood getting oxygen in
the lungs and leading to progressive cardiac and respiratory
failure.
On
Friday, Tan, 33, was sentenced to 16½ years' jail, and Pua, 38, was
given 14 years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
They
were initially charged with murder, but the counts were amended
after police completed investigations and on the basis of forensic
pathologist reports.
Tan
suffered from depression and borderline personality disorder.
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said she gave this little weight but took
into account as a mitigating factor that the
couple had come clean in revealing what they had
done.
The
pair had pleaded guilty on Monday to various charges for the
extensive torture of Miss Ee.
A
person said to be Miss Ee's younger sister, who did not want to be
named, told Channel NewsAsia that her family was concerned that
Miss Ee's simple nature could lead to her being "bullied or
cheated".
She
said Miss Ee felt that the family did not give her the freedom to
make her own friends. Miss Ee later moved out to live with Tan and
Pua. Her younger sister said Tan had exerted "total control" over
Miss Ee.
Miss
Ee was said to be the eldest among her brothers and
sisters.
Her
sibling said her family "will never be able to forgive (the couple)
for what they did, especially Tan".
Neighbours
The Sunday Times spoke to said the trio did not interact much with
others, but the sound of mahjong games could be heard from the
third-floor unit at Woodlands Avenue 9.
"I
don't remember any shouts or screaming. We were all surprised to
find out that such severe abuse was happening right under our
nose," said a neighbour who wanted to be known only as Miss Lee,
35, a secretary.
As
Miss Ee usually left the flat early around 9am, neighbours did not
see her often, said retiree Xu Wei Jian, 70.
They
would greet each other as she walked past Mr Xu's flat. He had on
at least two occasions asked her why she often had bruises around
her eyes.
"Once,
she said she had been beaten by a colleague, so I told her to tell
her manager or call the police. The other times, she said she fell,
but I did wonder how it was possible that she could fall so often,"
said Mr Xu in Mandarin.
When
asked if he regretted not alerting anyone to Miss Ee's injuries, he
said: "There's no use regretting, she's gone now. I never expected
that the injuries could come from the people she lived
with."
•Additional
reporting by Selina Lum
A
version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday
Times on December 03, 2017, with the headline 'Eight months of
beatings that ended in death'.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/eight-months-of-beatings-that-ended-in-death