Last suspect in Orchard Towers fatal fight goes on trial for murder
Tan Sen Yang, 32, faces a capital charge of murdering Satheesh Noel Gobidass, who died after a fight at Orchard Towers in 2019.

Pieces of tissue paper soaked in blood seen at the entrance of Orchard Towers on Jul 2, 2019. (Photo: 8world News/Cai Youxia)
SINGAPORE: Tan Sen Yang, the last remaining suspect in the 2019 killing of a man at Orchard Towers, went on trial for the capital charge of murder on Tuesday (Oct 3).
Seven people, including Tan, were initially charged with murder with common intention after Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31, died following a fight at Orchard Towers on Jul 2, 2019.
Six of the suspects – Joel Tan Yun Sheng, Chan Jia Xing, Ang Da Yuan, Loo Boon Chong, Tan Hong Sheng and Natalie Siow Yu Zhen – later had their charges reduced. All have been convicted and sentenced.
Tan, now 32, is the last to have his case dealt with in court and the only one facing the murder charge. If convicted, he faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.
He claimed trial on Tuesday, and is represented by a team of lawyers comprising Mr Teo Choo Kee, Mr Subir Singh Grewal and Mr Nichol Yeo.
Mr Satheesh died of a stab wound to the neck on the morning of Jul 2, 2019. He collapsed to the ground and was pronounced dead in hospital.
His killing attracted public attention, especially after the downgrading of charges for several suspects. The Attorney-General's Chambers had to refute online comments about preferential treatment because of their race.
The law and order situation at Orchard Towers also came under scrutiny. Nightlife outlets in the building have since stopped operations after the police said they would not grant or renew their public entertainment licences beyond July this year.
On Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun said the prosecution would prove that Tan inflicted a stab wound to Mr Satheesh's neck, and that his actions were not accidental or unintended.
Prosecutors will introduce evidence from 47 witnesses to make their case over the trial, spanning about two weeks. All six of Tan's co-accused are expected to testify.
Tan also faces two other charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon and causing hurt by an act that endangers another's life or personal safety. These have been stood down during the trial.
He appeared in court with his head shaved and wearing a prison jumpsuit. He smiled at his legal team, followed proceedings attentively and answered questions from Justice Aedit Abdullah when asked.
Tan's father also attended the hearing.
FIGHT AT ORCHARD TOWERS
Tan and his six co-accused were part of a group that was at Naughty Girl Club on the second floor of Orchard Towers in the early morning of Jul 2, 2019.
They had been drinking at other pubs since the night before, said prosecutors.
While leaving the club at around 6.20am, Tan's group got into a dispute with another group of patrons. Both groups were shouting secret society slogans.
Bouncers from the club stepped in, but the groups continued to be rowdy. Tan waved around a karambit knife, which is a short knife with a curved blade.
During this dispute, a man from the other group of patrons had his cheek cut with a knife, which permanently disfigured him, and another man's finger was also cut.
After a few minutes of brawling, Tan's group left and went down to the ground floor of the mall. There, they walked past Mr Satheesh, who was alone and had just taken the escalator down.
The court heard that Mr Satheesh was an acquaintance of the other group of patrons that Tan's group had brawled with outside the club.
Mr Satheesh confronted Tan's group, asking what they wanted. Blows were exchanged and a scuffle ensued. During the fight, Tan punched the victim three times in the face while holding the karambit knife.
In court on Tuesday, prosecutors played closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the dispute at the entrance of Naughty Girl Club and the fight on the ground floor.
The footage of the club's entrance showed Tan and his acquaintances shouting and raising their arms. Mr Hay pointed out that a karambit knife could be seen in Tan's hand.
Ground floor footage showed the fight involving Mr Satheesh, and Mr Hay pointed out the three punches that Tan inflicted on the victim.
The entire fight lasted less than a minute, and ended when Tan's group hurriedly left the building.
At the end of the footage, Mr Satheesh could be seen taking a few slow steps towards the entrance of Orchard Towers, where he suddenly collapsed.
ALLEGED MURDER WEAPON NOT RECOVERED
The police were alerted to the incident when a manager of Naughty Girl Club called to report a fight at about 6.25am.
Mr Satheesh was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead that morning at about 7.25am.
Tan and a few of his acquaintances fled the scene in a taxi and went to Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village.
Later that day, Tan went to Loo's house. He left behind the blood-stained white shirt that he had been wearing, and Loo threw it away.
Prosecutors said that Tan also threw away his shoes and karambit knife at the common rubbish chute of Loo's housing block. None of the items, including the alleged murder weapon, were recovered.
Sometime later that same day, Tan visited a friend's shop, where he heard the news that Mr Satheesh had died.
Tan's friend advised him to surrender to the police, and contacted authorities. Tan was arrested at about 2.30pm.
The prosecution said that according to Tan's psychiatric assessment, he had alcohol use disorder, and a history of adjustment disorder and depressed mood.
However, the assessment found that these conditions did not have any contributory link to Tan's offence, and he was not of unsound mind at the time, said Mr Hay.
Tan's trial continues at the High Court for the rest of the week.
Ang, Siow and Joel Tan were previously convicted of voluntarily causing hurt with common intention for their part in the fight. Ang and Joel Tan were sentenced to eight months and one month in jail respectively, with caning for Ang.
Siow, the sole woman in the case, was sentenced to five months in jail for voluntarily causing hurt with common intention and consorting with a person possessing an offensive weapon
Loo was sentenced to five months in jail and fined S$1,000 (US$727). He previously admitted to obstructing justice by throwing away Tan's blood-stained shirt, and an unrelated gambling charge.
Tan Hong Sheng was sentenced to four years and nine months in jail and caned for rioting, being a member of an unlawful assembly to assault a person, and consorting with a person who had an offensive weapon.
Chan, who was not involved in the fight, received a 12-month conditional warning for consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon.