A Malaysian man wanted for the murder of a gay NUS professor 13 years ago has finally been arrested.
A murder that was committed 13 years ago and shocked the academic and the gay world has resurfaced. The death of Professor Lee Kok Cheong, who was the head of National University of Singapore's English Proficiency Unit, aroused considerable debate among the gay men here and this particular case will be the hot topic for many a few weeks to come.
Besides holding a top academic job, he was also publicly gay. This is the reason why this was such a sensational case especially back in a decade where people were still not as receptive to the idea of homosexuality.
Professor Lee, 54 at his death, was murdered in December 1993. He had lived alone, and for a while his murderers remained unknown and at large. A mystery telephone tip to the police two years after the murder provided them with their first break, and after a few years of investigation, the story finally pieced together. Too Yin Sheong, 26 was arrested and charged with the capital offence of murder. He was subsequently hanged.
Here's the story:
The Professor met Too in a coffeeshop and had invited him to his home in October 1993. Professor Lee made some advances towards Too in the house which caused Lee to feel uncomfortable and he left. However, the Professor was a rich man and it clearly displayed the valuable antiques he collected. Too took notice of them and stored it up for further usage.
Two to three weeks later, Too mentioned this episode to two friends, Ng Chek Siong, 27 (in 1998), and an anonymous someone by the nickname Kim Beh. Kim Beh suggested that it might be worthwhile to rob the Professor, and the way to gain entry was for Too to arrange a meeting on the pretext of introducing Kim Beh to the Professor.
The murder was set for December 12. Ng Chek Siong waited in the car outside the Professor's house whileToo and Kim went into the house. While the Professor was distracted, they went into the kitchen, found some knives and a cord, and with these murder tools, they tied him up, stabbed and strangled him. They then ransacked the house, stealing his ATM bank card. Too later used this card to withdraw cash.
Ng Chek Siong was found guilty of "passively" taking part in the killing of Professor Lee by not doing anything to prevent the murder from taking place and was given 8 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane for robbery, theft and cheating.
Kim Beh however, was and has been on the run for the past 13 years. He was finally arrested last June by the Malaysian police for theft offences. Released from prison on Friday, he was brought back here and is currently in police custody.
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