A 63-year-old man was charged on Monday with the unlawful possession of a firearm in a case dating back to 1980. After 38 years on the run, the police arrested Seow Lam Seng in Penang, Malaysia on Mar 22 and two days later, he was extradited to Singapore.
On Oct 3, 1980, Seow, who was then 25-year-old, and his friend Lee Ah Fatt were stopped and searched by policemen at a staircase next to Sin Po Po Bar at 241, Tanjong Katong Road at about 2.30 pm.
The police told Channel NewsAsia that the pair had been behaving suspiciously. During the search, the officers allegedly found a pistol on Seow. Following the search, Lee took out his pistol from his back pocket and pointed it at the police.
However, the officers were alert enough and one of them drew his service revolver and shot him. Although Lee was injured, he continued to put up a fight and later died due to his injuries.
Meanwhile, Seow took the advantage of the chas and fled the scene. Since the incident, the police have been trying to track Seow down but was unable to do so for so many years until Mar 22, 2018.
The police told Channel NewsAsia that Seow will be remanded for a week to assist in an investigation. He will appear in court next on Apr 2. The authority added that if Seow is found guilty of the unlawful possession of a firearm, he will face life imprisonment.
On Mar 8, 2018, Singapore Police Force arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of his involvement in an armed robbery committed 22 years ago. The man was arrested in Malaysia with the help of the Royal Malaysia Police and was later extradited back to Singapore.
On July 5, 1996, two Singaporean men armed with knives robbed a 43-year-old man who had just withdrawn cash from an OCBC branch near Block 65 Yuan Kuang Road in Jurong. The robbers approached the victim boldly as he was walking to his car and robbed him of about S$44,000. After committing the crime, they fled on a stolen motorcycle.
