Six men and a woman charged with Orchard Towers murder
They are accused of killing mechanic at Orchard Towers
Six men and a woman were yesterday charged with the murder of Mr Satheesh Noel Gobidass, who died after a brawl at Orchard Towers early Tuesday.
Four of them - Joel Tan Yun Sheng, Chan Jia Xing, Ang Da Yuan, all 26, and Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, 22 - were in court and arrived in a police van yesterday morning.
The remaining three - Tan Sen Yang, 27, Loo Boon Chong, 25, and Tan Hong Sheng, 22 - appeared via video link.
They were each charged with one count of murder with common intention.
According to their charge sheets, the seven were allegedly members of an illegal assembly with the intention to cause hurt to Mr Satheesh, 31, and killed the mechanic.
The New Paper had reported Mr Satheesh was found lying in a pool of blood at the entrance of Orchard Towers at about 6.20am.
He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died from his injuries an hour later.
TNP reported earlier that closed-circuit television footage from a shop showed a group of people intercepting Mr Satheesh at the escalator leading to the building's entrance at about 6.10am.
One of the assailants, who is seen brandishing a weapon, threatens Mr Satheesh and forces him back. Seconds later, the group flees the scene and Mr Satheesh is seen staggering before collapsing at the entrance.
The seven accused, as well as an eighth female suspect, were arrested by police within 12 hours of the alleged attack.
Police said on Wednesday that investigations are still under way for the last member of the group.
The seven accused, who were expressionless when their charges were read out yesterday, have been remanded for a week at Central Police Division pending investigations.
The murder scene could also be reconstructed, the court heard.
More than 20 relatives and friends were present at the hearing.
Of the seven accused, only Chan was represented, by Mr John Koh from Populus Law Corporation. They are expected to return to court on July 11.
Once investigations are completed, they will be remanded at Changi Prison for an additional three weeks for psychiatric observation and will stay in remand until the High Court is ready to take over the case.
If convicted, the seven will face the death penalty.
No bail was offered due to the capital charges.
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