The sister of the co-owner of a popular Joo Chiat popiah shop has failed in her $1.2 million insurance claim against AIA Singapore after the High Court ruled that his death was not an accident.

Justice Judith Prakash found that Mr Quek Kiat Siong ” probably deliberately consumed more medication than he should have, and that this was the cause of his death”.

“I cannot find his death to have been caused by an accident falling within the policies,” she said in judgment grounds released yesterday.

The judgment is significant in clarifying what makes for an accident as described in a personal accident insurance policy in order to qualify for an insurance payout.

Ms Victoria Quek, elder sister of the dead man, had taken AIA to court to seek payouts on two personal accident policies.

But AIA countered that Mr Quek did not injure his body in any accident, so the policies did not apply.

Mr Quek, who was single and said to be a street-smart and savvy businessman, helped run the Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah & Kueh Pie Tie – a business started by his father in 1938 on the same premises.

In July 2012, the 50-year-old was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital for a month-long treatment for back pain. He was also treated by a psychiatrist for anxiety, depression and insomnia. He was prescribed 14 drugs by different doctors.

On Aug 4, 2012, he was found unconscious on his bedroom floor by a tenant at his Everitt Road house and rushed to Changi General Hospital. He died on the same day.

Lawyers Melanie Ho and Chang Man Phing argued that his death was an accident caused by “mixed drug intoxication” from the medication that was “completely accidental and unintentional”. They claimed he had consumed the drugs in the quantities prescribed and not extra amounts.

But defence lawyers Lim Tong Chuan and Joel Wee countered that AIA was not liable as Mr Quek must have intentionally overdosed on the drugs and, in any case, his death was not “accidental” or ” involuntary” because the drug consumption was not an involuntary act.

At issue was whether the policies covered the risk of dying from the voluntary consumption of the medicine according to the prescription and if the death was caused by the drug consumption, said the judge.

She held that Mr Quek’s death would be an accident “if it was not the intended result of consuming the medication”.

As a general principle, a voluntary act with unexpected consequences is treated as an accident, she added.

But Justice Prakash concluded that he had overdosed, relying on the scientific and medical evidence from the 12-day hearing last year.

“Notwithstanding that on the night before his death the deceased did not display any signs of being suicidal, he must have deliberately consumed excess medication,” she said.

Justice Prakash, who dismissed the claims with costs, said she was “perturbed” by the failure of Ms Quek and the dead man’s nephew Lucas Lim to give evidence.

“Overall, I gained the strong impression that the plaintiffs had organised their case in a particular way and had considered very carefully the evidence that they would present in court. I found them less than fully forthcoming.”

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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A general practitioner has been suspended for 12 months for supplying cough syrup to addicts .

Dr Liew Kert Chian, 46, was practising at Temasek Clinic & Surgery in Bedok when he supplied 90ml bottles of cough syrup to more than 30 addicts at $22 each.

He did this without making prescriptions and left no records of the sales, made between Jan 2 and Oct 5 in 2011.

At a disciplinary hearing by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) on Feb 4, he pleaded guilty to one charge of having been convicted of an offence implying a defect in character.

He was ordered to pay a penalty of $5,000.

In a press release yesterday, the SMC said 266 litres of Procodin syrup and 11.4 litres of Beacodyl were unaccounted for.

“This was not a case of mere inadvertence or inexperience on the part of Dr Liew in failing to keep proper records,” said the council.

The records of the sales were first made in pencil on the addicts’ treatment cards, and later erased. There were no records in the dispensing record or in the treatment cards.

In mitigation, Dr Liew’s lawyer said the doctor is the sole breadwinner and has to support his wife, daughters aged seven and 12, and 81-year-old bedridden mother.

However, the tribunal found it “deeply troubling” that he had recorded the purchases of the cough syrup in pencil in the patients’ treatment cards, and erased them later.

This clearly showed a high degree of planning. Also, this was not a case in which he stopped selling the syrup to the addicts “on his own volition out of remorse”, said the SMC.

The offence came to light when a friend of an addict told the Health Sciences Authority that her friend had been abusing cough mixtures and pills bought from the doctor.

“By profiting from his patients’ addiction, instead of properly treating them for their addiction, Dr Liew had recklessly disregarded the potential harm that could be caused to these patients.”

Dr Liew’s 12-month suspension took effect on March 19. He was convicted in the Subordinate Courts in October 2013 of supplying cough syrup without keeping a proper record, and was fined $4,500.

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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A four-year-old who fell nine floors from his new home in Yishun Ring Road in October last year died because of “a truly sad misadventure”, a coroner said yesterday.

Darien Riley Zabiq, who had been left alone at home with his two-year-old sister, had placed a chair in front of a window to reach it and push it open, the coroner’s court heard.

He then used a wooden-framed mirror to bridge the space between the window frame and the air-conditioner ledge, before climbing onto the ledge and falling over.

Delivering his findings into the boy’s death, State Coroner Marvin Bay said while there is no mandatory requirement for HDB flat owners to install window grilles, it would be “a rational and prudent safety measure” to have them in high-rise apartments, particularly for households with young children.

Children are naturally inquisitive, keen to explore their environment and “may not have developed a sound appreciation of risks”, he said.

And one can never reliably anticipate “their propensity to do the unexpected and hazardous”.

On Oct 6, Darien was supposed to have gone to kindergarten, but he did not want to and had kicked up a fuss, so his mother, Madam Sophia Noreen Kamsani, let him sleep in. She also let her daughter, Eriqa, stay at home instead of dropping her off at her grandmother’s.

As she was late for work, and with Darien and Eriqa asleep in the master bedroom, Madam Sophia went to Yishun Street 11 to give her mother, Madam Nor Hidayah Abdullah, her house keys.

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Madam Sophia’s husband, Mr Zabiq Kamis, had already left for work, while their two older children, aged eight and 10, had gone to school.

She made sure all the windows were closed before she left at about 8.15am. About 20 minutes later, Darien fell.

He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Madam Nor Hidayah was on her way to babysit her grandchildren when she got a call from Mr Zabiq telling her he had been contacted by the police.

Policemen found Eriqa asleep in the master bedroom. The window was open and a chair, taken from another room, had been placed in front of it.

The rest of the windows in the home were closed.

The family had moved into the flat just 12 days earlier and had arranged for window grilles to be installed.

As a safety measure, Madam Sophia had put cardboard boxes filled with heavy items near the windows as a barrier. She also reminded the children not to open the windows, or go near them.

The windows could not be locked, but only closed and secured by a handle.

In an interview a week after the incident, Mr Zabiq, a security officer, had said: “That day, we made the ‘fast’ decision (to leave the children at home alone), which was the wrong decision. And we have paid for it with my son’s death.”

Madam Sophia, a part-time dental assistant, added: “The pain will always be there, but we have to move on and be strong, as we have three other children.”

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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A 71-year-old taxi driver, who killed his lawyer’s wife after hitting her on the head with a bicycle chain and setting fire to the law office she was in, was sent to jail yesterday with the maximum sentence of 10 years.

Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng agreed with the prosecution that this was one of the most serious instances of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

She called Govindasamy Nallaiah’s attack on Madam Low Foong Meng, 55, “deplorable” for causing the victim to suffer multiple injuries.

The jail term was backdated to August 2011 when Govindasamy was in custody. If given the usual one-third remission for good behaviour, he could be released in two years.

In February, Govindasamy was convicted of the lesser charge of culpable homicide and cleared of murder. He originally faced life imprisonment or death under a rarely invoked murder charge.

Under the provision, a killing amounts to murder if the person commits an act knowing it is so imminently dangerous that it would in all probability cause death.

But the court found that the prosecution had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that his act “would in all probability cause death”.

He was, however, guilty of culpable homicide as his act was “likely” to cause death.

Man claims trial to killing ex-lawyer’s wife, setting building on fire

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The Straits Times, The New Paper, Shin Min Daily News, Rengarajoo Balasamy

Madam Low’s husband, Mr Rengarajoo Rengasamy Balasamy, was not in court for the sentencing. When The Straits Times contacted him later, he said: “That’s what the court thought was correct… There’s nothing I can say about it. What status do I have?”

He said the case was a matter between the prosecution and the accused, adding: “What I’ve lost, I’ve lost. I’m not going to get it back.”

Asked if he felt angry towards Govindasamy, he replied: “Of course. I’m not Mahatma Gandhi or Jesus Christ, I’m an ordinary human being with all the feelings. You put yourself in my place and you will know how it feels like.”

The court heard during the trial last year that Govindasamy owed Mr Rengarajoo, a childhood friend, $38,000 in legal fees incurred when the lawyer represented him in a 2002 corruption trial. In July 2011, Mr Rengarajoo took legal action against Govindasamy’s son to recover the debt.

Govindasamy was given a deadline to pay by Aug 10, 2011, or his son and daughter- his guarantors – would be taken to court.

That morning, Govindasamy went to Mr Rengarajoo’s office in the Afro Asia Building and tried to negotiate with Madam Low.

When that failed, he took out a bicycle chain and padlock and hit her on the head until she passed out. He then used a lighter to set some files on a table on fire before fleeing, leaving her inside.

Yesterday, his lawyer, Ms A. Sangeetha, sought a jail term of not more than seven years, arguing that “his paternal instincts had overcome his rationality”.

Govindasamy had gone from being a senior Customs officer to a bankrupt after his corruption conviction and did not want his children, both civil servants, to have the same fate, she said.

The prosecution sought the maximum term of 10 years.

It argued that Govindasmy’s acts were pre-meditated and calculated, noting that after knocking Madam Low out, he had the presence of mind to search the office for a file containing his children’s acknowledgement of debt.

As Govindasamy’s family left the court yesterday, his daughter, Ms Letchmi Ghandi Govindasamy, said through tears that the family would “just wait for him to come back”.

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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For 13 hours from Thursday night, Block 508 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 was the stage for high drama.

Madam Chua Tian Choo was trapped in her bedroom by her chopper-wielding son, who was threatening to burn himself in their two-room flat on the eighth floor, in a stand-off with narcotics officers who were there to arrest the suspected drug offender.

Elite police units armed with tactical gear were called in, civil defence officers set up an air bag and safety net outside the block, and about 50 residents from the seventh to ninth floors were evacuated in case of a gas explosion.

The drama ended only after the police were able to force their way into the flat at about 10am yesterday, arresting the 48-year-old tattooed suspect who was led out shirtless and with blood trailing down a leg. It was only then that the tired residents who spent the night at the void deck and a nearby community club were allowed to return to their homes.

Madam Chua, 70, told The Straits Times that the incident had left her feeling dizzy, but insisted her son, the elder of two – both of whom are no strangers to prison – never harmed or threatened her.

“It’s over, I’m happy,” she said in Mandarin.

The incident was sparked when Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers knocked on the door of her flat at about 9pm on Thursday, looking for her son as part of their investigations into a suspected drug trafficking syndicate.

CNB said he refused to open the door. Instead, he threatened to burn himself. The man was also seen holding a chopper.

Man arrested in Ang Mo Kio after 13-hour stand-off with police

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The New Paper, Lianhe Wanbao, The Straits Times

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was called in, along with the police’s Special Operations Command and negotiators.

The spectacle caught the attention of residents at a nearby Meet- the-People Session that was being held by Mr Ang Hin Kee, the MP for the area, and they began helping those who had to be evacuated.

“We opened up air-conditioned rooms at the neighbouring community club, and brought in blankets and comfortable chairs for the elderly and very young to get some sleep,” said Mr Ang.

The police managed to force their way into the flat after cutting through the gate.

A small amount of “Ice” and heroin were found, CNB said.

Preliminary tests showed that the suspect had taken drugs. Three knives, including a chopper, were also found.

When The Straits Times visited the flat, two gas canisters could be seen in the living room.

Neighbours said the family had been living there for about eight years, and the suspect could often be heard yelling or seen talking to himself.

Mr Ang said he recognised the man. “About two months ago, he came to us for financial assistance, and we gave. We helped with food as well. He said he was unemployed,” he said.

Madam Junidah Sadham, a 50-year-old housewife, was among those who had to be evacuated along with her husband, niece and granddaughter. She ended up at the void deck but could hardly get any sleep because of the ongoing drama.

“We were worried about what was happening and how long it would take. Luckily, no one was hurt,” she said.

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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The police are investigating a case of three students from a madrasah, or Islamic religious school, who were physically attacked on Friday (April 1) in a public place, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

In a Facebook post made at about 11.30pm on Friday, Mr Shanmugam said that while the motives for the attack are unclear, he has asked the police to “get to the bottom of it and ensure that justice is done”.

TODAY reported that a Facebook post by a netizen named Nisha Mohd Hussein, purportedly a teacher from Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah in Geylang, said that “at about 7.20am at Paya Lebar MRT, our students…(were) physically abused by a stranger.”

The netizen also described the victims’ description of the attacker, adding that one student was kicked on the left thigh, another hit by a heavy item contained in a plastic bag, and the third victim was “hit in the same manner on one of her eyes”. The post has since been taken down.

A police report was also lodged, said the post, and the netizen appealed for eyewitnesses to contact the school.

A post on the madrasah’s Facebook page said that the affected students have been counselled and parents have been contacted.

The incident comes two days after Mr Shanmugam underlined the need to thwart Islamophobia, or prejudice against Muslims, from developing.

He had been speaking at a closed-door meeting with 60 students from six full-time madrasahs in Singapore.

sujint@sph.com.sg