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Orchard Towers double murder

The Orchard Towers double murder refers to the murder of Kho Nai Guan, aged 46, and his girlfriend Lan Ya Ming, aged 30, by Michael McCrea in 2002. The British financial adviser, with the help of three others, had dumped the bodies in a car which was abandoned in the Orchard Towers car park.

Background
Michael McCrea (alias Mike Townsend), a British financial adviser mudered his driver friend Kho Nai Guan and the latter's girlfriend Lan Ya Ming in his apartment in Pinewood Garden on 2 January, 2002. He was assisted by his girlfriend Audrey Ong. After the murders, they obtained the help of two friends, Gemma Louise Ramsbottom and Augustine Justin Cheo Yi Tang, to search the apartment for Kho's valuables and to dispose of the bodies.

Kho's body was stuffed into a wicker chest in the back of a silver Daewoo Chairman 400 whilst the body of Lan was found bundled in cloth in the boot. The car was abandoned in the Orchard Towers car park. The bodies were only discovered on 7 January, 2002 due to the foul smells emitting from the car. Both McCrea and Ong had fled Singapore on 5 January, 2002.

Description
McCrea had met and hired Kho as his chauffeur in 1998. After they became friends, McCrea invited Kho and his girlfriend, Lan, to live in his Balmoral Park apartment. Ong moved into the apartment in mid-2001 when she became McCrea's girlfriend and secretary.

The murder of Kho on 2 January, 2002 was triggered off by a quarrel when Kho used a derogatory remark in Mandarin to describe Ong. McCrea was angered by Kho's act and retaliated by pushing and punching Kho. Kho fought back but was eventually overpowered and strangled by McCrea.

Lan then tried to leave but was detained in Kho's bedroom by McCrea and Ong who wanted to find out where Kho might have hidden drugs or money in the apartment. However, she was unable to provide relevant information. McCrea then called a friend, Gemma Louise Ramsbottom, to help him search for the money in the apartment whilst Ong called her friend, Augustine Justin Cheo Yi Tang, to request for help in disposing of a dead rat. Both Ramsbottom and Cheo claimed they were threatened with bodily harm if they did not cooperate.

As Ramsbottom had her two daughters with her, Ong left the apartment to find a babysitter for the children. When she returned on 3 January, 2002, she found Lan motionless on the floor in Kho's room. After Lan was moved to the living room, McCrea tied two plastic bags around Lan's head and secured them with his tie, resulting in her suffocation to death.

On 4 January, 2002, the two bodies were deposited in the car and eventually abandoned in Orchard Towers. McCrea and Ong then fled Singapore for London on 5 January, 2002.

Trial
After being at large for about six months, McCrea and Ong were arrested in Melbourne in June 2002. Ong was deported first to Singapore in 2003 where she faced charges of concealing evidence. She was sentenced on 7 February, 2003 to 12 years in jail for her part in disposing the bodies of the murder victims.
McCrea was eventually extradited to Singapore from Australia on 27 September, 2005, after a three-year battle against deportation. Singapore had agreed that he would not be hanged for the murders before Australia agreed to deport him.

Both Ramsbottom and Cheo testified against McCrea during the trial where he pleaded guilty to two charges of culpable homicide and one charge of concealing evidence of the killings. He was sentenced by Justice Choo Han Teck to 24 years in jail on 29 June, 2006. 

This was based on the maximum sentence of ten years' jail for the murders of Kho and Lan respectively as well as an additional four years for the disposing of evidence. His appeal was dismissed by Singapore's Court of Appeal as the three-judge body felt he was not remorseful for the crime.

 

Author
Tan Yee Lin

References
Australia orders Briton extradited to Singapore in double murder case. (2002, November 16). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

Lum, S. (2003, February 8). Covering up a double murder. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

McMillan, P. (2006, June 27). North man's deal to avoid the gallows. The Evening Chronicle, Newcastle. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

Chong, E. and Yap, S. (2006, June 27). 'Slut' remark started fight with chauffeur. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

McCrea pleads guilty to Orchard Towers murders. (2006, June 27). Today. Retrieved

Why McCrea got stiff 24-year jail term. (2006, July 7). The Straits Times. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

McCrea fails to get jail term cut. (2006, August 23). The Straits Times. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Factiva.

 

The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events
Murder--Singapore
Law and government>>Criminal law>>Disposition of cases



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