| NEWS ARCHIVES |
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| Verdict of suicide for woman found burnt in toilet |
| 23 Dec 2009 |
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By Shaffiq Alkhatib
A state coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide in a case involving an elderly woman who was found dead inside a public toilet at West Coast Park on the 6th of February this year.
The court heard that sixty-seven year old retiree, Wee Chiok doused her body with petrol before setting herself alight.
Senior Staff Sergeant Steve Tan who's an investigation officer handling the case said, Ms Wee was a gambler who frequently played mahjong and visited casinos on cruise ships.
And the court heard, contents in her mobile phone revealed that she had taken some loans from illegal moneylenders who want their money back.
The total amount which she owed them is unknown.
But her best friend, 45-year old Koong Fong May, a coffeeshop assistant said that she's aware the deceased had borrowed $1,500 cash from loan sharks in 2008.
The investigation officer highlighted that the two women had also taken out illegal loans together and even became guarantors for each other when dealing with loan sharks.
Senior Staff Sergeant Steve Tan related to the court Ms Koong's account of the events on the day of her friend's death.
Ms Koong was with Ms Wee shortly before she died that day.
Ms Koong said her friend had phoned her at around 2pm and suggested that they go to Pasir Panjang Food Centre.
The pair met at around 7.20pm but Ms Wee had a change of plans and wanted to go for a walk at West Coast Park instead.
After reaching their destination half an hour later, the two women sat down on a bench for a chat.
But they decided to visit the public toilet at around 8pm and the women went into separate cubicles.
Shortly after that, Ms Koong smelt petrol fumes coming from her friend's cubicle.
This prompted her to check on Ms Woo who opened her door slightly, removed two bangles from her left wrist and passed them to her.
Ms Woo instructed her to pass the valuables to a person known as "Ah Lin" who's believed to be Ms Woo's daughter.
Ms Woo also told her friend to ask Ah Lin to come to the toilet to collect her dead body after she committed suicide.
Ms Woo then told Ms Koong to wait outside and her friend complied.
Moments later, Ms Koong heard Ms Woo screaming and saw smoke coming out of the toilet.
Ms Koong opened a cubicle door and when she saw that her friend was in flames, she ran out of the toilet, shouting for help.
Ms Koong told the investigation officer that she's aware of her friend's intention to commit suicide.
But she added that she didn't stop her friend from taking her own life as she felt, she could not change her friend's intention and accepted her decision to die.
In addition, Ms Koong claimed that she didn't stop Ms Woo as she felt lost and confused when her friend told her to wait outside the toilet that evening.
Ms Koong also told Senior Staff Sergeant Tan that her friend had expressed her desire to end her own life several times.
That's because Ms Woo claimed, she was stressed at being pestered by loan sharks and her seven children did not provide her with any financial help to get her out of her predicament. |