MS Unsolved: The mysterious case of Lawrence Leow, who disappeared on his way home from the carpark

Lawrence Leow: A husband, son, and brother who disappeared without a trace

MS Unsolved is a series that hopes to raise awareness of cold cases in Singapore and generate new leads. If you have any information on the cases, reach out to MS News or the police.

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In 1986, 26-year-old Lawrence Leow Boon Siong vanished under puzzling circumstances, leaving behind a grieving family and a trail of unanswered questions.

The second of four sons, he had just gotten married and was planning to move out from where he lived with his parents into a new flat in Yishun.

His inexplicable disappearance thus devastated his loved ones. For decades, they clung to the hope of seeing him once again. 

However, this has not come into fruition, and whatever happened to Lawrence has remained one of Singapore’s unsolved mysteries. Here’s what we know about the case.

Lawrence Leow was last seen walking from a parking lot to his home

Lawrence’s family. Source: Weekend East via National Library Board

According to a reenactment by Mediacorp, which claimed to “maintain the accuracy of all the events”, Lawrence left his family flat in Upper Boon Keng Road, where he lived with his parents, on the morning of 18 August 1986 to drive his wife to her workplace.

This was a daily routine for the couple.

Little did Lawrence’s family know, that would be the last time they’d see him. Later that night, a neighbour claimed to have seen Lawrence parking his pickup truck in its usual spot, a short walk from his flat.

Yet the man never made it back home.

Concerned by his absence, his family filed a police report, launching a six-month search. However, their efforts yielded no answers.

He met a former lover on the day he disappeared

A picture of Lawrence Leow. Source: Weekend East via National Library Board

According to the reenactment, some details emerged during the investigation, and the police did identify a suspect possibly related to Lawrence’s disappearance.

However, they were unable to disclose any information to the Leow family, as they did not have any evidence proving this person’s criminal intent.

Notably, the police also discovered that Lawrence was still in contact with two of his former lovers.

In fact, he met with one of them on the same day he disappeared, right after dropping his wife off at her workplace. But again, there was nothing linking either woman to Lawrence’s disappearance.

With all investigation avenues exhausted, Lawrence’s family was left with nothing but theories of his fate.

Various theories and speculations discounted

Source: meWatch

The idea that Lawrence willingly disappeared was quickly dismissed. According to a Weekend East article from 1991, Lawrence was a family man who would always bring laughter to his loved ones.

He did not have any financial difficulties, and his bank accounts and passport remained untouched.

The family did not believe he was abducted either. They said Lawrence was “stout and rugged”, and would have put up a fight if he was attacked. Yet, no commotion or signs of a struggle were reported near the carpark.

“Why and how he disappeared is still a mystery,” his brother said in the Weekend East report.

His fate remains a mystery

Lawrence’s family believed the most plausible theory was that he was ambushed by someone familiar to him on his way from the carpark back to his home. 

They speculated that an acquaintance might have lured Lawrence to a secluded area and attacked him there. Still, this was never more than a theory.

Eventually, the family became “prepared for the worst”. Each time they read reports of bodies found in Singapore or Malaysia, they would contact the police, but none led to any closure.

To this day, Lawrence Leow’s disappearance remains an enigma, leaving his family and investigators without answers.

What happened to him that night is a question that still haunts those who remember the case.

Also read: The mysterious case of Jackson Chua, the ‘responsible’ teen who vanished and never came home

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Featured image adapted from meWatch.