Murdered man planned to go fishing on Monday

SINGAPORE — Nothing seemed to be amiss when Mr Tan Boon Sin left his motor workshop at Kaki Bukit around 1pm on Wednesday afternoon, his employees recalled. The 67-year-old came to work at the usual time that day, and appeared to be his normal and cheerful self.

The fishing enthusiast had just returned from a fishing trip in Kuching last week and had planned to return on Monday, according to a friend who shared a room with him on the most recent trip.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Tan was found murdered in his home at Hillside Drive. The body of his eldest son, 42-year-old Tan Chee Heong, was found outside Kovan MRT Station along Upper Serangoon Road, after it had been dragged under a car — a silver Camry belonging to the elder Tan.

The police yesterday classified the two deaths as murders after locating the silver Camry parked neatly at a carpark at Block 1084, Eunos Avenue 7A — a few streets away from where the elder Tan’s workshop used to be before it moved to Kaki Bukit some three years ago. Investigations are ongoing.

Blood stains were spotted on the doors of the car, according to those who reported the discovery to the police at 8.50am yesterday. When they left their workplace at around 11pm on Wednesday, they did not see the car there.

Shocked by the double murder, family members, friends and neighbours who knew the Tans struggled to come to terms with what had happened. Most, if not all, were left wondering why this would happen to the father and son, with many describing the elder Tan as “a very nice man”. Little was known about the son.

The elder Tan, who had been in the car workshop business for over 40 years, was described by those in the industry as an amicable and easy-going man. “He was a happy-go-lucky man, he never quarrelled with anyone,” said his worker, who wanted to be known as Ah Xiong, before he turned teary.

Neighbours said the elder Tan lived “quietly” with his wife and the couple had a close-knit family who visited often, especially their eldest son. The couple would also look after the children of Mr Tan Chee Heong, who is said to run a software company.

A woman, who wished to be known as Mrs Pang and has been neighbours with the Tans for about 10 years, said the elder Tan would occasionally volunteer to send her daughters to school.

Another neighbour, who wished to be known as Mr Kirk and who was at home at the time of the murders, said he did not hear anything that afternoon as he was watching television. He added that he had never heard any commotion in the 10 years he had been neighbours with them.

One neighbour, however, said she saw Mr Tan Chee Heong, who was covered in blood, stumbling out of the terrace house before falling face down to the ground. She then saw a “fat, short” man dressed in an orange-and-white striped polo tee and bluish-grey jeans drive the Camry out. There were no blood stains on the man, who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, she said.

Despite the pouring rain yesterday, the 1km trail of blood linking the two locations where the bodies were found was still visible along some stretches. A red Toyota Starlet GT Turbo, said to belong to Mr Tan Chee Heong, remained parked against the flow of traffic outside the terrace house.

Family members returned to the Hillside home in the afternoon for about an hour before leaving, holding a few bags and declining to speak to the media.

Mr Alan Tan, 36, a friend of the elder Tan, visited the house yesterday afternoon hoping to find out the details of the funeral. He told reporters that he and Mr Tan often went fishing in a group of about 10 people who were in their 30s and 40s.

“He was a very kind and very humble man and he never behaved like he was older than us,” he said, adding that the elder Tan often advised them to stop smoking and told them he would offer S$100 to his employees who promised to quit smoking.

They were also expecting to go on another fishing trip, which has since been cancelled.