He harboured 'One-eyed Dragon', now he's jailed for 20 months
Triad leader Tan Chor Jin is also known as “One-eyed Dragon” as he was blind in one eye. Photo: Singapore Police Force
SINGAPORE — For helping triad leader Tan Chor Jin flee the Republic shortly after he gunned down a nightclub owner more than a decade ago, Ho Yueh Keong was sentenced to 20 months’ jail on Wednesday (Aug 10).
Ho, 43, had earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of habouring Tan — also known as “One-eyed Dragon” as he was blind in one eye. Another charge of concealing information about the murder was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Ho had been on the run for nine years before he was arrested by Malaysian authorities and extradited back to Singapore last year.
Urging a district court to impose a jail term of between 18 and 24 months’ on Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Wen Hsien said a “particularly aggravating” factor in Ho’s case was that he helped Tan get out of Singapore, “and therefore beyond the jurisdictional reach of our law enforcement authorities”.
Between 6.55am and 7.11am on Feb 15, 2006, Tan shot Lim Hock Soon in the latter’s flat at Serangoon Avenue 4. He later returned to a flat in Hougang Avenue 10 and asked Ho to drive him back to Malaysia.
At that point, Ho did not know about the shooting. It was when they were heading to Woodlands Checkpoint that Tan admitted he had shot Lim. Tan threw the pistol into a river thereafter.
Ms Tan said Ho did not have a change in mind even after learning that Tan was making his escape that day.
“Any reasonable person in (Ho’s) position would have immediately realised that he was assisting a murderer to flee from the scene,” she added.
The two men drove to Johor Baru and then to Penang, where they learnt that they were wanted by the authorities. They later drove to Muar and parted ways.
A few days later, a warrant of arrest was issued against Ho. Initially, Ho wanted to surrender but did not do so after Tan told him not to and that he was “making arrangements”.
Defence lawyer Kertar Singh said his client should get between 15 and 18 months’ jail, given that he was thrown into “mental turmoil” on learning about the shooting.
“He was shocked and panic-stricken ... The sudden revelation stunned (Ho) and unsettled him,” the lawyer said. “His mind was in a whirl, he was unable to think straight and did not know what to do.”
When Ho wanted to surrender to the authorities, Tan discouraged him, saying that the police would not believe his innocence and he would face capital punishment, added Mr Singh.
Mr Singh also said Ho only found out about the murder as they approached the immigration channel of Woodlands Checkpoint.
As to why Ho failed to report the matter to the authorities while they were there, Mr Singh said his client was still “shocked and disturbed” and “this impaired his clarity of thought”.
Tan was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 25, 2006 and brought back to Singapore on March 1. He was sentenced to death in 2007 and hanged in 2009, after his appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal and a clemency application was denied.
Ho could have been jailed up to five years and fined.
