Yishun fatal assault trial: ‘They could tie you up and kill you’, psychotherapist warned deceased

SINGAPORE — In the hours leading up to his death, Shawn Ignatius Rodrigues’ psychotherapist told him that he could get tied up and killed if he continued to harass his church friend, Ryan Xavier Tay Seet Choong.

Tay, his friends and family members had already allegedly assaulted Rodrigues several times. But he continued making frequent visits to their block of flats, insisting on speaking to Tay.

Things took a tragic turn on the evening of July 9, 2016. Rodrigues, 26, was found dead and tied up with raffia string at the sixth floor lift lobby landing of Block 279, Yishun Street 22, after Tay and his stepfather allegedly confronted him.

These details emerged on Thursday (Feb 13) as the two men’s trial for causing grievous hurt to Rodrigues entered its third day.

Tay, now 24, and his stepfather Lawrence Lim Peck Beng, now 58, are accused of assaulting Rodrigues so violently that he eventually died at the scene from traumatic asphyxia with a head injury.

Tay, also a full-time national serviceman (NSF) then, has been accused of stamping on Rodrigues’ shoulder, punching his face and head numerous times, forcefully pushing his face to the ground and pressing his knee on Rodrigues’ back for about 20 minutes.

Lim is said to have abetted Tay and fractured Rodrigues’ nose and eye socket during the assault.

Tay’s lawyer Peter Low revealed that more than 50 police reports had been made against Rodrigues in their efforts to keep him away. Neighbours testified the day before that he had been loitering around the block from 2014 onwards.

Both parties had attended mediation sessions between February and May 2016 at the Community Court.

‘A CERTAIN PREOCCUPATION’ WITH SEEING TAY

On Thursday, Rodrigues’ psychotherapist at the time of his death — Dr Nisha Rani from the Centre of Psychotherapy — and his psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Dr Susan Zachariah, took the stand.

Dr Zachariah, who saw Rodrigues only once, two days before he died, testified that he had suffered from a language development delay. Rodrigues’ mother said that he had special needs and previously attended a special programme.

In a report, the psychiatrist wrote that his oddities of speech and demeanour were suggestive of Asperger’s Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder. She did not formally diagnose him, referring him to the IMH’s Adult Neurodevelopmental Service instead.

Those with Asperger’s may not be able to recognise verbal or non-verbal cues and understand social norms. They will also focus on one thought or interest at a time, Dr Zachariah explained.

Rodrigues had trouble making friends since primary school, the psychiatrist said, and was serving his National Service in the Republic of Singapore Air Force when he died. He had earlier graduated from Republic Polytechnic.

Dr Zachariah said that Rodrigues told her he had “finally made a friend in the last few years” but was asked not to contact him any longer, following an incident in March 2015. Rodrigues did not elaborate about this and was “not forthcoming”.

Upon questioning by Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng, Dr Zachariah said that when she saw Rodrigues, he “kept mentioning that he wanted to talk to his friend Ryan”.

“There was a certain preoccupation with going to see Ryan, meet with him,” she added.

TAY ‘DISTORTED’ TEXT MESSAGES, RODRIGUES SAID

Dr Rani testified that she had 10 counselling sessions with Rodrigues — the last one on the morning of the alleged fatal assault.

She said that Rodrigues began seeing her after the Community Court advised him to do so, as he had been “surveilling and contacting” Tay and his family. They had filed for a protection order against him but Dr Rani did not know whether they had obtained it.

In her sessions with Rodrigues, he told her that he had been banned from entering their church for a short period after he “took blame” for Tay’s actions. He did not elaborate on this.

Rodrigues further alleged that Tay had “distorted” some text messages over WhatsApp and posted them on Facebook. Their relationship deteriorated from then on, Rodrigues said.

In March 2015, he asked a mutual friend to give him a photograph of Tay’s biological father’s home as he liked the architecture.

Rodrigues told Dr Rani that gossip then began circulating that he was interested in Tay’s sister, as she had been captured in the shot, too.

He was obsessed with finding out “the truth” but never told her what it was about, Dr Rani told the court.

Rodrigues also told her that in August 2015, Tay and a group of his friends beat him up so badly that he lost two of his front teeth. He did not make a police report as he wanted Tay “to tell him the truth”.

On one occasion, Tay’s mother allegedly sprayed him in the face with foam while Tay hit him with a bat.

Dr Rani testified that she told Rodrigues to be careful of the escalating physical abuse he was facing and to stop visiting them. But on the morning of July 9, 2016, he told her that he had gone to the block of flats opposite Tay’s every single day of that week.

“I wanted to give him a reminder of how serious it was… I told him that next time, they could tie you up and kill you. I wanted to frighten him,” she said, adding that he was not taking her advice to heart.

The trial continues next week. Tay and Lim remain out on bail.