Geylang Bahru family murders

The Geylang Bahru family murders occurred in Singapore on 6 January 1979.[1] All four children in the Tan family were found dead in their flat, at Block 58, Geylang Bahru: they were hacked and slashed to death and their bodies were left piled on top of each other. The children ranged from 5 to 10 years of age at the time of death. Their parents, Tan Kuen Chai (陈昆才; Chén Kūncái) and Lee Mei Ying (李美英; Lí Měiyīng), were working at the time of the murders. The police interviewed over a hundred people who were possible suspects. However, the case remains unsolved.

Geylang Bahru family murder victims:
Top (from left): Kok Peng (age 10), Kok Hin (age 8)
Bottom (from left): Kok Soon (age 6), Chin Hee (age 5)

Murders

At 6:35 am, Tan and Lee left for work. They operated a minibus service that transported students to school. Their children, Tan Kok Peng (陈国平; Chén Guópíng), 10, Tan Kok Hin (陈国兴; Chén Guóxīng), 8, Tan Kok Soon (陈国顺; Chén Guóshùn), 6, and Tan Chin Nee (陈珍妮; Chén Zhēnnī), 5, had still been asleep at the time. The older three, all boys, were students at Bendemeer Road Primary School, while their younger sister attended a nearby People's Association kindergarten.

At 7:10 am, their mother phoned them three times to wake them up, but received no answer. She proceeded to ask a neighbour to help wake the children. The neighbour knocked on the door, but also received no reply.[2]

When the couple returned home after 10 am, Lee found the bodies of her children in the bathroom. They had been left piled on top of each other in their t-shirts and underwear, with slash wounds on their heads. The right arm of Kok Peng, the oldest child, had been almost severed, while Chin Nee, the youngest child, had slash wounds on her face. The children were reported to have at least 20 slash wounds each.[3]

Investigation

The police concluded that the murders were premeditated and that the killer(s) had taken care to avoid leaving evidence. However, there were bloodstains in the kitchen sink and the killer(s) appeared to have cleaned themselves prior to leaving the flat. There was no evidence of forced entry, the flat had not been ransacked, and no items were reported missing. The murder weapons, which are believed to have been a cleaver and a dagger, were never found. The eldest son, Kok Peng, is believed to have put up a fight with the killer, as several strands of long hair were found in his right hand.[4]

The investigation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department's Special Investigation Section. They were unable to identify a motive but inferred that the murders were motivated by vengeance.

The police also believed that the perpetrator(s) had personal knowledge of the Tans and their circumstances, as they were seemingly aware that Lee had undergone sterilisation after the birth of her last child: the Tans received a Chinese New Year card two weeks after the murder, depicting happy children playing together with the words “Now you can have no more offspring, ha-ha-ha” in Chinese. It was signed off as “the murderer”. The sender addressed the parents by their personal nicknames, “Ah Chai” and “Ah Eng”, further amplifying the theory that it was someone with close relations to or knowledge of the family.

Aftermath

The children were buried on 7 January 1979 at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery along with some of their belongings. Their parents subsequently ceased their minibus business[5] and started working at a company that produced PVC materials. Five years after the incident, Lee Mei Ying managed to reverse the sterilisation that she had undergone prior to the murder, and gave birth to a healthy baby boy.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Geylang Bahru family murders (1979)". National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. "Four kids slashed to death..." National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  3. "Slaughter of the siblings". National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. "Murder of four children: Two women questioned". National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. "Laughter of children brings painful memories for couple". National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  6. "The little wonder". National Library Board. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
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