The following stories were first published in The Straits Times Star E-books app in July 2015 as an e-book titled Guilty As Charged: 25 Crimes That Have Shaken Singapore Since 1965.

The publication was a collaboration between The Straits Times and the Singapore Police Force.

WARNING: Some contents in these stories may be disturbing for some individuals.

The Sunny Ang trial (1965)



KILLER: Sunny Ang Soo Suan killed his 22-year-old girlfriend after taking out a host of insurance policies on her life. PHOTO: ST FILE

Sunny Ang Soo Suan thought he had committed the perfect murder when his girlfriend disappeared at sea. He stood to gain from the insurance policies he began buying for Ms Jenny Cheok Cheng Kid shortly after they met.

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The case of Mimi Wong (1970)



Mimi Wong Weng Siu was the first woman to be sent to the gallows after Singapore’s independence. PHOTO: ST FILE



The dance hostess was the first woman to get the death penalty in Singapore for murdering her Japanese lover’s wife. Her husband also went to the gallows for the murder.

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Gold bar murders (1971)



Criminal Investigation Department officers inspecting the recovered gold bars. PHOTO: ST FILE



Two brothers and five other youths killed an import-export towkay and two of his employees for 120 gold bars, worth more than $500,000 at the time.

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The case of Lim Ban Lim (1972)



Lim Ban Lim’s body covered with a tarpaulin after police were finally able to bring him down. WANBAO FILE PHOTO



The notorious gunman who engaged in Hollywood-style shootings with police met his end in a showdown at Margaret Drive. He had gained so much notoriety that after he was shot to death by police, 33 inmates escaped from a reformative training centre just to attend his funeral.

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The Tontine killing (1974)



Police officers removing an earthernware jar containing a woman’s torso. It belonged to Madam Quek Lay Eng. PHOTO: ST FILE



Sim Joo Keow fought with her sister-in-law over money, strangled her, dismembered her body, then hid the pieces in different places.

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Swimming trunk gang (1975)



ROBBERS: Khalil (left) and Suhaymi of the swimming trunk gang arriving for court before being sentenced to 64 years in jail and 144 strokes of the cane in total. PHOTO: ST FILE



Greed proved the downfall of these serial robbers, who struck in nothing more than underwear. They were believed to have been responsible for some 500 offences including housebreakings, thefts and armed robberies. Their total haul amounted to nearly $500,000 - an all-time record in local criminal history then.

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Mount Vernon murders (1978)



THE KILLERS: (from left) Yeo Ching Boon, Ong Hwee Kuan and Ong Chin Hock. PHOTO: ST FILE



The three friends, all aged 21, wanted a gun so they could become robbers. They planned to steal a gun from the sentry at a police reserve unit in Mount Vernon.

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Ritual murders (1981)



Adrian Lim's House of Horror: Two children were killed here, a seventh-story flat in Block 12, Toa Payoh Lorong 7. The unit was vacant for five years after the murders until a Catholic family moved in. PHOTO: ST FILE



Adrian Lim, a charlatan medium seen by many as the very embodiment of evil, and his two “holy” wives, kidnapped, tortured and killed a pair of children. Lim, who was being investigated on a rape charge, wanted to exact revenge on the police by murdering children.

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Andrew Road murders (1983)



Members of the Police Tactical Team outside retired businessman Robert Tay’s bungalow at Andrew Road on July 23, 1983. Mr Tay, his wife and their Filipino maid were found murdered. PHOTO: ST FILE



Sek Kim Wah killed a retired businessman, his wife and their maid during a robbery, and would have killed two more if not for his reluctant accomplice.

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Nick Leeson, Rogue Trader (1995)



Leeson being escorted by Commercial Affairs Department officers as he clears immigration at Changi Airport after being extradited from Frankfurt. PHOTO: ST FILE



While based in Singapore, he brought down Britain’s oldest merchant bank Barings and created a worldwide financial scandal. He falsified accounts and trading records, racking up $2.2 billion in losses.

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Tourist from Hell (1996)



The prison van carrying murderer John Martin Scripps leaving the High Court after the trial. PHOTO: ST FILE



John Martin Scripps befriended unknowing tourists, then butchered them and drained their bank accounts. He killed in Singapore and Thailand, and was the first Westerner to be hanged for murder in the Republic.

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Rolex murder (1998)



A police officer holding the watch for which Jonaris killed Madam Poh. PHOTO: ST FILE



Jonaris Badlishah wanted to give his girlfriend a Rolex. He did not have the money, so he killed to get the $7,500, gold and diamond-studded watch. He struck make-up artist Sally Poh Bee Eng more than 10 times on the head with a hammer.

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The case of Anthony Ler (2001)



Anthony Ler faking sorrow at his wife’s wake. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE



He showed no remorse after luring a teenager into killing his wife, who had wanted a divorce. He offered the killer $100,000 and coached him on how to stab Madam Leong in the neck.

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Orchard Towers murders (2002)



British businessman Michael McCrea sitting in a police van leaving the Subordinate Courts. He killed his driver and a Chinese national, and was sentenced to a total of 24 years in jail. PHOTO: ZAOBAO FILE



Michael McCrea tried to escape justice by fleeing Singapore but finally paid the price for killing a woman and his driver – a man he called his brother.

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High-rolling hustler (2004)



Asia Pacific Breweries executive Chia Teck Leng (left) cheated four banks of more than $117 million. His girlfriend Li Jin faced charges of using a forged passport to enter and leave Singapore. POLICE FILE PHOTOS



Chia Teck Leng secretly led a double life as a high-rolling hustler, complete with flashy cars, luxury apartments and a girlfriend half his age. The “unremarkable” family man cheated banks of millions.

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Huang Na's murder (2004)



Huang Na's parents had to be supported at the Mandai Crematorium as they watched their daughter's coffin roll into the furnace. The Primary 2 student was killed in a storeroom at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. PHOTO: ST FILE



When the eight-year-old went missing, Singaporeans from all walks of life helped in the search. But she was already dead — killed by Took Leng How, a man she treated as an uncle.

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Kallang body parts murder (2005)



The police found the murdered woman’s head at an incineration plant in Tuas. PHOTO: ST FILE



He stole his young lover’s ATM card and withdrew her money. Then fearing that she would identify him, factory supervisor Leong Siew Chor killed and dismembered the body into seven parts.

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Body parts in Orchard Road (2005)



Body parts were found in a bag near the Orchard MRT station on Sept 9, 2005. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE



The two maids were the best of friends, until a dispute over money led to Guen Garlejo Aguilar killing Mrs Jane Parangan La Puebla, then gruesomely disposing of the body in separate bags.

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The one-eyed Dragon (2006)



The killer Tan Chor Jin (in red) being brought back to the murder scene in Serangoon Avenue 4. There, he was shouted at by the victim’s wife and mother. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO



Gangster Tan Chor Jin was so-called because he was blind in one eye. He repeatedly shot a nightclub owner, killing him, before conducting his own defence in court and failing miserably.

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The Sunshine Empire (2006)



James Phang Wah, the founder and head of Sunshine Empire, was sentenced to nine years’ jail and a $60,000 fine for criminal breach of trust. PHOTO: ST FILE



Self-styled entrepreneur James Phang Wah promised huge returns through The Sunshine Empire's “revolutionary” investment plan, but it was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.

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Killing of Nonoi (2006)



Madam Mastura Kamsir refusing to leave her daughter Nonoi’s side after she was buried. PHOTO: ST FILE



When two-year-old Nurasyura Mohamed Fauzi went missing, her stepdad Mohammed Ali Johari joined the search. But it was he who had murdered her, and hidden the body.

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Yishun triple murder (2008)



Murder suspect Wang Zhijian being escorted to the crime scene at Block 349, Yishun Avenue 11 by police officers. He killed three women, including his lover and her daughter. PHOTO: ST FILE



A tumultuous love affair ends with Chinese national Wang Zhijian going on a murderous rampage one night, killing his lover, her daughter and a flatmate after a quarrel over money for crab.

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Taxi murder (2009)



Police at a forested area near Sembawang Beach, where the body of taxi driver Yuen Swee Hong, 58, was found. PHOTO: SHIN MIN FILE



An attempted robbery ends in the death of a cab driver. The killer, Wang Wenfeng, then demands ransom from the dead man’s wife.

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Yap Weng Wah, sex predator (2015)



Yap Weng Wah committed the offences over a period of three years, until June 2012 when the sister of an 11-year-old checked his cellphone. She found SMS exchanges between Yap and her brother. They went to the police. PHOTO: ST FILE



Engineer Yap Weng Wah got 30 years in jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane for abusing at least 31 boys. The phrase “did penetrate” was repeated 74 times in the 23-page charge sheet. The other two charges involved him causing a 15-year-old boy “to penetrate” Yap’s mouth, and directing a 12-year-old to send a video of the child doing a sexual act.

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