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SINGAPORE: Witnesses who restrained a man after he was caught taking photos under his skirt at the Little India MRT station did not behave in a “too aggressive” manner or use “excessive force” to restrain him before he died, said a coroner.
Andrew Ho Chee Meng, 46, died on November 1, 2019 on a sidewalk outside 56 Niven Road when several men chased and immobilized him after they saw him trying to take the illicit photos.
By the time the police arrived, Mr. Ho was unresponsive and had vomited on himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
A forensic pathologist certified that the cause of death was hypothyroid cardiomyopathy, a “natural disease process.”
“(The pathologist) was of the opinion that it was likely that the stress of running / chasing and / or the subsequent restraint had contributed to Mr. Ho’s death,” said state coroner Kamala Ponnampalam in his findings that were released Tuesday (22 de September).
He added that Mr. Ho’s external injuries were “superficial and did not cause or contribute to death.”
But he added that the witnesses were “obviously unaware” of the medical risks when it comes to restraint methods or the “need for continuous monitoring as a way to mitigate that risk.”
“The efforts of members of the public to apprehend and then confine (Mr. Ho), who was seen doing an illegal act, are commendable. But certain aspects of his actions deserve comment,” he said.
CAUGHT TAKING PHOTOS UNDER THE SKIRT
At approximately 12:40 pm on November 1, 2019, a member of the public, Mr. Ng Kim Tong, noticed that Mr. Ho was using his mobile phone on an escalator to take a picture under the skirt of a woman who I was standing in front of him.
Mr. Ng yelled, causing Mr. Ho to run up the escalator. Another man, Mr. Nardozi Thierry, heard the commotion and both men chased after him.
When Mr. Ho ran out of the MRT station and crossed an open parking lot, a third man, Rudy Iskandar Khan, joined the chase.
They stopped Mr. Ho on a sidewalk outside 56 Niven Road after running for about 200 meters. Mr. Ho fought with Mr. Ng by grabbing him by the arms and they fell to the ground.
“The three men then immobilized (Mr. Ho) in a face-down position on the ground,” the coroner’s findings said.
“They held him by the arms and Mr. Nardozi placed his knee on the back of (Mr. Ho’s) thighs.
“Mr. Nardozi also took (Mr. Ho’s) phone to prevent him from deleting pictures.”
LEE: Upskirter suspect found dead after being detained by members of the public
Mr. Ho’s alleged victim, who cannot be identified due to a gag order, arrived at the scene and called the police.
A fourth member of the public driving by, Mr. Leong Cheng Fong, saw the commotion and stopped to record video of the incident. He stepped in to help, relieving Mr. Ng.
“Mr. Leong held (Mr. Ho’s) left arm with one hand and placed his other hand on (Mr. Ho’s) back to immobilize him,” the coroner said. Mr. Ho was still struggling and had started vomiting.
A short time later, a fifth man, Mr. Racmat Hidayattullah Hasbullah, who was searching for his brother, Mr. Rudy, replaced his brother. Mr. Racmat grabbed onto Mr. Ho’s right arm and shoulder and noticed vomit next to the immobilized man’s face.
Police arrived at the scene around 12:50 pm, about 15 minutes after being alerted. When two police officers patted Mr. Ho on the shoulder, he did not respond.
“One of the men who had previously immobilized (Mr. Ho) commented that (Mr. Ho) was pretending because the police were there,” the coroner said.
One of the officers tried to turn it over and saw that Mr. Ho’s eyes and mouth were open and there was vomit on his face and on the ground. He checked the pulse, but couldn’t detect it and called an ambulance.
Three more officers arrived at the scene and two performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Mr. Ho, while other officers searched for a defibrillator.
A paramedic and his team arrived and took over, noting that Mr. Ho’s eyes were wide and there was dry vomit on his face. Mr. Ho was pronounced dead at the scene.
Video footage from various sources – CCTV cameras at the MRT station and 56 Niven Road, Mr. Leong’s mobile phone recording, and police body cameras – “completely captured” the sequence of events.
“In particular, the images revealed that witnesses had immobilized (Mr. Ho) by holding his arms and legs and placing a hand on his back,” the coroner said.
Camera footage from officers showed that Ho was still immobilized when authorities arrived and that he was lying on his stomach and immobile, with vomit near his face.
“NATURAL ILLNESS PROCESS”
The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Mr. Ho said that the death was due to a “natural disease process.”
Mr. Ho had a history of hyperthyroidism, or its severe form, Graves’ disease, said Dr. George Paul, a senior consultant forensic pathologist in the Division of Forensic Medicine at the Health Sciences Authority. He underwent radioactive iodine treatment to correct the overactive thyroid gland, but it led to “overcorrection.”
The pathologist explained that hypothyroidism causes the heart to slow down to recover from the heart’s contraction in time for the next contraction and is sensitive to decreased levels of thyroid hormones. It can be treated with thyroxine, but Mr. Ho had a “poor compliance history” with his medication.
“Dr. George further commented that the running / chasing and / or subsequent restraint most likely contributed to (Mr. Ho’s) death, as he was already vulnerable to death by effort or struggle due to his diseased heart due to thyroid gland malfunction, “said the coroner’s report.
“There were no findings on examination of the body to suggest that (Mr. Ho) would have died from his disease condition, if not from the stress of tension and struggle.”
According to the coroner’s report, Dr. George also noted that Mr. Ho was seen at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and diagnosed with “borderline IQ paraphilia, and that voyeurism is a form of paraphilia.”
“Taking videos under the skirt would also be considered a paraphilia or perversion,” the coroner’s findings said.
During the forensic examination of Mr. Ho’s devices, 47 photos were found under the skirt on his mobile phone, including two photos that were taken on November 1, 2019 at 12:22 p.m. and 12:40 p.m.
Closer examination of Mr. Ho’s tablet and MicroSD card seized from his home revealed 498 upskirt photos and 589 upskirt photos respectively.
There were also 74 website histories related to upskirt photographs found on another mobile phone taken from Mr. Ho’s home.
PRUDENT TO PROMOTE THE NOTIFICATION OF INCIDENTS TO THE POLICE: CORONER
While the coroner noted that the public’s efforts to arrest and detain Mr. Ho were commendable, he said that certain aspects of his actions “deserved comment.”
“When (Mr Ho) was lying face down on the floor, most of them had observed that (he) had vomited, but no attempt was made to reposition him or to actively check that he was okay,” the coroner said.
“It was clear from the video that (Mr. Ho) had stopped fighting and lay motionless on the ground for about three minutes, but the witnesses either did not observe this or did not think it was significant.
“The state of non-response (from Mr. Ho) was only detected after the police officers arrived at the scene and searched it.”
The coroner said that while people are not “specifically discouraged” from helping those in need, “it may be wise” to turn to the police because they are trained to contain suspects.
“Public participation in crime prevention efforts is necessary and should be encouraged,” said the coroner.
“However, it may be prudent to promote reporting to the police or seeking police assistance as the preferred and safest option.”
