SINGAPORE — A drug addict accidentally fell to his death from a seventh storey flat in Mountbatten while trying to escape arrest by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), a coroner has found.

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled that Koh Suay Tee, 59, died of multiple traumatic injuries after falling to the ground as CNB officers conducted a raid on the unit in November 2021. The Housing and Development Board flat at Block 47 Jalan Tiga was owned by another man.

In an attempt to evade arrest, Koh had taken the “risky step” of climbing out of the unit’s master bedroom window, which led him to a “precarious position” that resulted in his fall.

In findings dated March 31, the coroner said that there was no evidence to suggest that Koh had deliberately leapt from the window to commit suicide. Foul play had also been ruled out.

In ruling Koh's death as a misadventure, the coroner said: "It was likely that Mr Koh did not want to be caught during the raid and used the only opportunity that he had to try to escape by climbing out of one of the master bedroom windows."

Koh had been convicted four times since 1989 on charges of trafficking, consumption and possession of controlled drugs.

On multiple occasions between 1977 and 2011, he was also admitted to the drug rehabilitation centre for treatment and placed on the drug supervision programme.

He had also been diagnosed with heroin addiction at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), and had three admission to IMH for drug detoxification. 

CNB officers seized a sling bag that Koh had on his person after his fall, which contained S$907.50 in cash. They also found drug-related items in the unit that he fell from. 

WHAT HAPPENED

On Nov 30, 2021, at about 8am, Koh was at the home of Mr Ang Boon Lai at Jalan Tiga.

Koh had brought heroin to the unit, where both he and Mr Ang packed the illicit drug into separate packets in Ang’s room. According to Mr Ang, Koh was smoking heroin while they were in the room.

Two other men, Tiew Eng Wan and Lim Poh Eng, were also present at the unit and smoking heroin.

At about 12.30pm, a team from CNB’s special task force was directed to arrest Mr Ang at the Jalan Tiga unit. 

One of the officers was instructed to observe the back of the unit from the ground floor, while the rest proceeded to the unit.

At the unit, the team announced themselves as CNB officers and instructed the occupants to open the main gate, which was locked.

Upon hearing this, Mr Ang observed that Koh entered the master bedroom of the unit and closed the door behind him. 

Mr Tiew and Mr Lim then approached the gate and informed the CNB officers that they did not have the key to the main gate lock.

Mr Ang then approached the gate with a bunch of keys but refused to pass the key to the CNB officers. He claimed to have gone to the master bedroom to ask Koh for the key, but Koh was not there.

It was then that the CNB officer who was stationed at the ground floor saw something coming out of a window of the unit and fall to the ground with a loud thud.

He immediately went over to check and saw that it was a Chinese man who had fallen and was lying motionless. He then called for an ambulance.

When the paramedic arrived, she noted that Koh was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse.

She immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and inserted an airway tube. She also recalled that he was “bleeding massively from his mouth” and also from his fractures and upper extremities.

Koh was then taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was pronounced dead at on the same day at 2.25pm.

Court documents did not indicate whether any action, if any, was taken against the three men in the flat with Koh.