Man charged with murdering 73-year-old man at Telok Blangah void deck

SINGAPORE: A 32-year-old man was charged on Wednesday (Oct 7) with murdering a 73-year-old man at a void deck in Telok Blangah two days earlier.

Gabriel Foong Shi Cheng, a Singaporean, was handed one count of murder for causing the death of Mr Tham Nam Poh at about 6pm on Monday.

He allegedly did so at the void deck of Block 57, Telok Blangah Heights.

Details of how he allegedly committed the murder were not given in this early stage of the proceedings.

Foong appeared in court via video-link from his place of remand, in cuffs and a white polo shirt.

The prosecution asked for Foong to be remanded for three weeks at Complex Medical Centre in Changi Prison, in order to undergo an evaluation at the Institute of Mental Health.

This is to assess if he was suffering from any abnormality of mind that substantially impaired his mental responsibility for any acts or omissions related to the alleged offence.

The judge granted the request.

The police earlier said they had received calls for assistance near Block 61, Telok Blangah Heights at about 6pm on Monday.

Officers found a 73-year-old man lying motionless at the ground floor. Another man, aged 53, was injured.

Both men were taken to hospital, but the older man died.

Foong subsequently called the police to surrender. He was arrested in the area and is believed to have acted alone, the police said.

They added that there was currently no evidence to suggest it was a "religiously motivated attack or an act of terror".

On Wednesday, Foong asked for a Mandarin interpreter.

He is represented by Mr Josephus Tan, Mr Cory Wong and Mr Devlin Mohyong from Invictus Law.