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SINGAPORE – A man sentenced to life in prison and three strokes of a cane in 2004 for his role in the abduction of a seven-year-old girl the previous year committed suicide on July 8 this year in Changi Prison.
Chua Ser Lien, 58, who had a history of bipolar disorder and was at the time serving his sentence in the prison’s psychiatric housing unit, had climbed a flight of stairs from the third to the fourth floor, then climbed the internal railings, before releasing it. .
He hit his neck and the back of his head as he fell, landing at the foot of the third floor stairs.
He was rushed to Changi General Hospital (CGH) and died of a head injury at 10.15am that day.
An investigation into his death on Tuesday (December 22) revealed that prison officials had not been negligent and that Chua had been receiving appropriate medical treatment while behind bars.
Nor had he shown suicidal tendencies.
Coroner Marvin Bay said there was no basis to suspect a crime and found that Chua had committed suicide.
He added: “Action has been taken after this event, with instructions that no inmate should be left alone at all times outside of the cell.
“It is understood that other security measures are being reviewed to prevent any recurrence, including a possible sensor system to warn people near the railings.”
Chua, who used to run a cleaning company, was one of two men linked to the kidnapping of the girl.
She was abducted from her home near Yio Chu Kang Road at around 4.30pm on Christmas Day 2003.
A caterer, who was at the girl’s home preparing for a Christmas party, heard a commotion and wrote down the license number of the getaway vehicle.
She alerted her husband, who pursued her. The kidnappers left the girl on Tampines 72 street half an hour after she was kidnapped.
Chua and his accomplice, transportation manager Tan Ping Koon, then 35, were sentenced to life in prison and three strokes of the baton in 2004.
In recounting the sequence of events that led to Chua’s death this year, Coroner Bay said that Chua’s fellow inmates had left at the scheduled time of television around 8:30 a.m.
Coroner Bay said: “Mr. Chua indicated that he did not wish to join the activity. It was noted that Mr. Chua never joined the other inmates during assigned television times. Mr. Chua normally asked to be dropped off at the Room of day 2 to walk alone “.
The coroner added that when inmates were given their one-hour time in the courtyard, their cell doors were remotely closed to discourage them from staying in their cells.
This was done to encourage inmates to enjoy a certain amount of recreational time.
Closed-circuit television footage of the incident was played in court Tuesday, showing Chua climbing a flight of stairs to the fourth floor. Another clip shows him climbing onto the railings near a ladder.
Prison staff were alerted but released their hold before they could lead him to safety. He was pronounced dead at CGH later that morning.
Suicide Prevention Hotlines
Singapore Samaritans: 1800-221-4444
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Mental Health Institute Mobile Crisis Service: 6389-2222
Care Corner Counseling Center (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
Silver ribbon: 6386-1928
Tinkle’s Friend: 1800-274-4788
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