Lim Keng Peng
Born
Lim Keng Peng

c. 1953
Singapore
Died3 May 1988 (aged 35)
Sunset Way, Singapore
Other namesAh Huat
Ah Leng
Oh Leong
Ah Leong
Peter Lim
Occupation(s)Shipyard worker (former)
Construction business owner (former)
Known forOne of Singapore's most wanted fugitives in the 1980s
Criminal statusDied before trial
SpouseUnnamed wife (separated)
RelativesFour brothers, two sisters, parents
Conviction(s)None
Criminal chargeMurder (×2)
PenaltyNone

Lim Keng Peng (林景明 Lín Jĭngmíng;[lower-alpha 1] c. 1953 – 3 May 1988), better known as Ah Huat (阿发 A Fā), was a Singaporean[1] criminal who was wanted for the murder of a police detective named Goh Ah Khia in December 1985. While Lim did not have any prior criminal record before he killed Detective Goh, Lim was also involved in the fatal shooting of a restaurant owner Vincent Loke Kok Nam, which occurred in April of the same year he killed the policeman. Lim, who went into hiding, subsequently became one of Singapore's ten most wanted criminals. After a 30-month manhunt, Lim was discovered and killed during a police ambush. A coroner's court found Lim guilty of the two murders he was accused for, and his death was ruled as a lawful killing on the part of the policemen who shot him.[2]

Biography

Born as the eldest son in a family of seven children in Singapore, Lim Keng Peng had four younger brothers and two younger sisters.[lower-alpha 2]

Lim, who went to a Catholic school as a child, later studied up to Secondary Four in Queenstown Secondary Technical School. After completing his schooling, Lim went to work at a shipyard, and he also became the owner of a construction business. After this, Lim left the job and went to look for employment opportunities in Malaysia. He also worked as a temple medium at one point.[3]

Lim was a devout Buddhist, and he was able to speak Thai due to his frequent travels to Thailand. Lim was known to be well mannered and had a good relationship with his parents and siblings. However, he also had a heavy drinking habit and often get violent when drunk. That habit itself would lead to him into becoming one of Singapore's most wanted criminals.[4]

Murder charges

Murder of Vincent Loke Kok Nam

On 2 April 1985, at his restaurant in River Valley Road, 43-year-old Vincent Loke Kok Nam (陆国楠 Lù Guònán) was shot dead by a customer, who was identified three years later to be Lim Keng Peng.[5]

Lim was said to have gone into Loke's restaurant to buy a packet of food, and he left after getting his food. However, moments later, Lim returned to the shop, and complained to Loke that his packet was leaking. As Loke stood at the counter with Lim facing him, Lim allegedly whispered something to Loke before he pulled out a gun to fire a single shot at Loke, killing him before Lim ran off, leaving his motorcycle behind. The motive for the killing was unknown, and the police were unable to identify a possible suspect behind the case, despite getting the description that the gunman was left-handed. Loke was survived by his wife Carol Loke and two sons aged 10 and 15 respectively.[6][7][8] The restaurant was closed for weeks by Loke's wife (who became the new owner) in light of Loke's death, before it re-opened.[9]

Singaporean crime show Crimewatch re-enacted the shooting of Vincent Loke and aired it on television in March 1986, and the police sent a public appeal through the episode for information to solve the case.[10] Still, the murder of Loke remained unsolved up until the death of Lim in 1988, when his involvement was finally discovered by the police.[11]

Murder of Goh Ah Khia

On 18 December 1985, eight months after he committed his first murder, 32-year-old Lim Keng Peng once again killed a person, and this time round, his second victim was a police detective.

Prior to the brutal killing, a police report was lodged by one of Lim's tenants that after a drunk altercation between Lim and her husband, Lim had stolen her handbag from her in their rented flat, and he was last sighted entering a red Toyota and leaving the flat. Therefore, a team of two policemen trailed Lim all the way to Jalan Pelikat in Upper Serangoon.[12]

Later, the officers approached Lim at Jalan Pelikat, and they told him to stop driving. However, Lim whipped out his revolver and fired a shot at one of the officers before he fled. The injured officer, 41-year-old detective Goh Ah Khia[lower-alpha 3] (吴亚仔 Wú Yàzǎi), died the next day due to the gunshot wound on his chest.[13] At the time he died, Detective Goh left behind a wife, and two children - a son and a daughter - aged 13 and nine respectively. His wife reportedly told the press that she was proud of her husband, who died an honourable death while discharging his duties as a policeman.[14]

The brutality of Detective Goh's killing recalled five past cases where policemen were murdered while in the line of duty during the past two decades prior to the case.[15][16]

Wanted list

As a result of the detective's murder, 32-year-old Lim Keng Peng was immediately placed among the top ten suspects on the police's wanted list.[17][18]

The police sent out public appeals for information leading up to the arrest of Lim on the charge of murdering Detective Goh Ah Khia. They also sent a warning to members of the public to beware of Lim and also to not harbour Lim, as the crime of harbouring a criminal carries the maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment, in addition to a fine. Searches were also conducted in flats to capture Lim.[19][20][21] Lim Keng Peng was considered to be the most dangerous criminal the police encountered ever since the case of Lim Ban Lim, a notorious gunman wanted for killing a policeman before he was killed by the police during a gunfight in November 1972. By July 1987, Lim Keng Peng rose to become the No. 1 wanted criminal on the police's list of fugitives at large.[22]

Crimewatch, a Singaporean crime show, re-enacted the case of Detective Goh's murder and aired it on television in June 1987, and the police also sent out another appeal to the Singaporean public to raise awareness of Lim's case and encourage members of the public to come forward should they have any information about Lim's whereabouts.[23] The Singapore Police Force also sought help from Malaysia and Thailand to help trace his whereabouts.[24][25]

Death

After a 30-month police manhunt for Lim Keng Peng, who spent his time seeking shelter at construction sites and secretly working odd-jobs, the police finally obtained information of his whereabouts upon an informant's tip-off.[26]

On 3 May 1988, Lim was seen having a drink at a coffee shop in Sunset Way, Clementi. At the coffee shop, Lim was confronted by three policemen, and even though the officers ambushed Lim in an attempt to arrest him, Lim violently struggled and aimed his gun at the policemen, who all fired a total of nine shots at Lim, killing him on the spot. Lim Keng Peng was 35 years old when he died. A .22 Smith and Wesson revolver (which contained four live rounds), some clothes and a screwdriver were among Lim's possessions found on him when he was killed.[27][28]

When she was asked about Lim's death, Detective Goh's widow stated that ever since receiving the news, her bitterness over the loss of her husband faded and she found closure.[29][30] Lim was eventually cremated at a Buddhist temple in Bright Hill, after his family recovered his remains from the mortuary,[31] and Lim's siblings delayed passing the news of Lim's death to their 57-year-old mother, who was overseas at the time her eldest son died; Lim's father was no longer alive at this point.[32]

After his death, Lim's name was removed from the wanted list, and wanted gunman Khor Kok Soon (alias Ah Soon) replaced Lim as the No. 1 wanted criminal on the list itself.[33][34] 31-year-old Khor, a Singaporean citizen, was on the run since 1984 for armed robbery and murder before he was caught in Malaysia in 2003, and he was subsequently extradited to Singapore, where he was tried and sentenced to death for illegal discharge of a firearm under the Arms Offences Act.[35][36][37][38]

Aftermath

After Lim's death, the police discovered that Lim was most likely the real killer behind the unsolved killing of Vincent Loke Kok Nam back in 1985 inside Loke's restaurant, because the fingerprints and palmprint of Lim were a match to those found on the abandoned motorcycle rode by Loke's murderer, and the bullet that killed Loke was ascertained to be coming from Lim's revolver. Lim was also a left-handed shooter like the killer who shot Loke. Loke's wife was brought to the mortuary to see Lim's body, and she was certain that Lim was the person who killed her husband.[39][40][41]

In December 1989, a coroner's court conducted a joint inquiry hearing of the murder cases of both Vincent Loke and Detective Goh Ah Khia, and simultaneously heard the death of Lim in the same inquiry.[42] This hearing was attended by the families of Lim's two deceased victims, although Lim's mother did not want to attend the court session.[43][44] At the end of the hearing, the coroner's verdict found Lim guilty of the two murders of Loke and Goh back in 1985, based on the evidence presented in the hearing. In the same verdict, Lim's death was ruled as a lawful killing, after the police officers who shot Lim were found to have rightly exercised their right to self-defence in the face of imminent risk of injury or death posed by Lim to the lives around him.[45][46][47]

As for the officers who participated in the police ambush of Lim, they were praised for their bravery and professionalism, and awards were issued to those who played instrumental roles in ensuring the elimination of Lim.[48][49]

Singaporean crime show Crimewatch re-enacted the case of Lim Keng Peng for the second time and aired it on television in June 2003.[50]

In light of a 2015 police shooting incident, the case of Lim Keng Peng was recalled as one of the notable cases where a police officer discharged a firearm while in line of duty.[51]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Lim's Chinese name was also spelt as 林景平 Lín Jĭngpíng or 林庆平 Lín Qìngpíng
  2. ↑ A source however, claimed that Lim have five siblings, consisting of three brothers and two sisters.
  3. ↑ His name was also spelt as Goh Ah Kia

Cited sources

  1. ↑ "被通缉枪手 是新加坡人". Shin Min Daily (in Chinese). 23 December 1985.
  2. ↑ "美食店主与探员遭阿发开枪谋杀". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 20 December 1985.
  3. ↑ "Family of wanted man asks him to contact police". The Straits Times. 25 December 1985.
  4. ↑ "A bully, drinker and loner". The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  5. ↑ "伏诛通缉犯"阿发疑涉及连串枪杀案". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 4 May 1988.
  6. ↑ "Chicken restaurant owner shot dead". The Straits Times. 3 April 1985.
  7. ↑ "Police looking for left-handed gunman". The Straits Times. 4 April 1985.
  8. ↑ "Chicken-Eater to stay closed for some time". The Straits Times. 12 April 1985.
  9. ↑ "Chicken-Eater re-opens". The Straits Times. 25 April 1985.
  10. ↑ "Killing of restaurant owner re-enacted". The Straits Times. 29 March 1986.
  11. ↑ "Cop killer Ah Huat linked with 1985 slaying of restaurant owner". The Straits Times (Overseas). 14 May 1988.
  12. ↑ "悍盗黑夜遭追踪反身拔枪击毙警探". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 20 December 1985.
  13. ↑ "Detective shot in the heart by gunman dies". The Straits Times. 20 December 1985.
  14. ↑ "'I am proud of my husband'". The Straits Times. 21 December 1985.
  15. ↑ "20年来共5警员追缉匪徒时殉职". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 20 December 1985.
  16. ↑ "25年来5警员殉职". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 9 May 1989.
  17. ↑ "Singapore's 10 most wanted men". The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  18. ↑ "警方广贴照片，通缉10大要犯 首号要犯"阿发"，枪杀警探吴亚仔，钻石店外杀司机，彭志豪潜逃13年". Shin Min Daily (in Chinese). 6 August 1987.
  19. ↑ "冷血枪匪危险人物 "阿发"身带枪械 公众勿擅自捉拿". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 26 July 1987.
  20. ↑ "Hunt for gunman widens". The Straits Times. 21 December 1985.
  21. ↑ "Flat-to-flat hunt for killer". The Straits Times. 20 December 1985.
  22. ↑ "Police name suspected cop killer as most wanted man". The Straits Times. 26 July 1987.
  23. ↑ "Detective's shooting on Crime Watch". The Straits Times. 15 June 1987.
  24. ↑ "枪杀警探·名列第一号通缉要犯 枪匪阿发潜逃普吉岛我要求泰警协助逮捕". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 20 December 1985.
  25. ↑ "大马警方协助追缉冷血枪匪"阿发"". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 21 December 1985.
  26. ↑ "Informers network mobilised in hunt". The Straits Times. 5 May 1988.
  27. ↑ "Most wanted man shot dead". The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  28. ↑ "Operation Manhunt". The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  29. ↑ "杀夫凶手伏诛 警探遗孀："消我心头恨"". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 4 May 1988.
  30. ↑ "'I feel less bitter now'". The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  31. ↑ "All nine shots hit most wanted man: Autopsy". The Straits Times. 6 May 1988.
  32. ↑ "Mother on overseas trip and does not know Ah Huat is dead, says brother". The Straits Times. 5 May 1988.
  33. ↑ "And then there were six..." The Straits Times. 4 May 1988.
  34. ↑ "警方的头号通缉犯 阿顺是双枪盗比阿发更危险". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 5 May 1988.
  35. ↑ "All-out hunt for gunman". Singapore Monitor. 31 July 1984.
  36. ↑ "Gunman to hang for firing at cop". The Straits Times. 26 February 2005.
  37. ↑ "Firing at cop: Plea against death sentence rejected". The Straits Times. 27 September 2005.
  38. ↑ "True Files S5E8 The Shenton Way Shootout". meWATCH. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  39. ↑ "有指纹子弹为证 阿发三年前杀美食店主". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 7 May 1988.
  40. ↑ "Ah Huat believed to have killed Chicken-Eater owner". The Straits Times. 7 May 1988.
  41. ↑ "Chicken-Eater widow quite sure Ah Huat killed husband". The Straits Times. 7 May 1988.
  42. ↑ "AH HUAT'S DOUBLE SHOOTING". The Straits Times. 5 December 1989.
  43. ↑ "替人看顾婴孩 吴亚仔遗孀 匆忙出庭". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 4 December 1989.
  44. ↑ "阿发母亲 不想听审". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 4 December 1989.
  45. ↑ "Two killings pointed to Ah Huat, inquiry told". The Straits Times. 5 December 1989.
  46. ↑ "Coroner: Ah Huat killed restaurant owner, detective". The Straits Times. 6 December 1989.
  47. ↑ "阿发伏诛 是合法枪杀". Lianhe Wanbao (in Chinese). 6 December 1989.
  48. ↑ "Officers praised for tenacity, team work". The Straits Times. 6 May 1988.
  49. ↑ "Killing of most wanted man: Awards for magnificent 7". The Straits Times. 5 May 1988.
  50. ↑ "Crimewatch 2003 S1 Ep 1". meWATCH. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  51. ↑ "Incidents of police discharging firearms in Singapore". TODAY. 31 May 2015.
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