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MS Unsolved: The curious case of Khor Kok Soon & the Shenton Way shootout that left 1 dead

MS Unsolved: The case of Khor Kok Soon, the gunman linked to a ‘mysterious’ death

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.

Just over 40 years ago in 1984, 31-year-old Khor Kok Soon opened fire on police in Shenton Way as he was fleeing arrest.

He then got on a lorry and held the driver hostage in order to escape.

While the gunman was able to get away, the lorry driver, 26-year-old Ong King Hock, was found dead.

This is the case of the man who was once Singapore’s most wanted — the fugitive who avoided arrest for nearly 20 years and was later discharged for murder.

No stranger to crime and guns

Khor Kok Soon stopped attending school after Primary Six and turned to criminal life at an early age.

He began stealing from others at 13 years old and was arrested for robbery in 1979 and incarcerated at 26 years old.

Source: Singapore Police Force via The Straits Times

Khor then formed a gang with three others, and together, committed multiple cases of armed robbery.

A Singapore Monitor article described the career criminal as someone “who would not hesitate to shoot”.

 

In 1983, Khor fired three bullets at a lead factory owner during a robbery. He also robbed several women at gunpoint, including stealing S$9,000 from a pregnant lady.

Although already notorious, the Shenton Way Shootout would be Khor’s most memorable crime.

Scouting potential victims to rob in Shenton Way

At around 2pm on 30 July 1984, Khor and one of his associates prowled Shenton Way on their stolen motorcycle looking for potential marks.

Their target — vulnerable citizens who were about to withdraw large amounts of money from their bank accounts.

Source: Google Maps

The two did not go unnoticed by locals, as police received a tip notifying them of armed robbers in Shenton Way.

While Khor was busy scouting for potential targets inside a bank, police were able to arrest his associate — the 43-year-old Lim Woo Sung — who was manning the stolen motorcycle.

Khor Kok Soon caught in the thick of the shootout

At the same time, two officers were tailing Khor as he exited a bank.

A scuffle ensued when he resisted arrest, with Khor managing to free himself while aiming his pistol at the pair.

The two officers then gave chase, but the gunman quickly hopped onto a lorry and ordered the driver, 26-year-old Ong, to get him away from the officers.

A shootout commenced when Khor opened fire at one of the officers who was closing in.

The gunshots reportedly did not injure either Khor or the officers and he ultimately slipped away in the lorry.

The questionable death of Ong King Hock

Following his escape, police raided multiple hideouts looking for the fugitive.

Police also found Ong King Hock dead on Teo Hong Road, off Bukit Pasoh Road. The driver was found slumped over the wheel of his lorry which had been abandoned.

According to the Singapore Monitor, Ong had sustained a gunshot wound. A forensic autopsy revealed that the fatal shot was fired directly into the victim’s neck.

Ong’s murderer had also used a 0.38 bullet — different from the 0.22 calibre pistol favoured by Khor.

Additionally, ballistics tests also ruled out the possibility that one of the pursuing officers had accidentally shot the lorry driver.

Police also found a bloody shirt left near the abandoned lorry, leading them to believe that Khor had been wounded in the chase. Because of this, police were posted at the hospital ERs across the country.

Despite the extensive search, which also included multiple roadblocks, police were unable to apprehend Khor.

Three weeks after the shootout, police believed the fugitive had escaped into Malaysia and was looking for a way to escape to Thailand.

Life as a fugitive for Khor Kok Soon

In later accounts, Khor revealed that he spent the first few days after the shootout hiding in Singapore.

With the help of a local ganglord, he secured an escape into Malaysia where he hid for 19 years — shuttling between Johor Bahru, Kedah, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur.

Before he left, Khor sent letters to the press protesting the narrative that had been built around the shootout.

While he admitted to being a part of the shootout, he vehemently denied murdering the lorry driver.

Khor would elude authorities for nearly two decades but his luck ran out on 23 December 2003.

Source: Singapore Police Force via True Files

He was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police in Johor and extradited to Singapore where he faced trial.

A trial that only shed light on half the story

Khor Kok Soon stood trial for the Shenton Way shootout on 14 February 2005.

The gunman, now 51 years old, was charged with three counts of unlawfully discharging a firearm with intent to cause hurt, according to a Shin Min Daily News article from 2004.

While Khor fully admitted to taking part in the shootout, he said he never pointed his gun at the police officers. Instead, he said he only fired warning shots aimed skywards.

Additionally, he reiterated his claims that he did not murder the lorry driver Ong King Hock.

Khor said he saw Ong slumping over on the wheel as they were escaping.

He then took over the wheel and drove the lorry into an alleyway where he abandoned it along with its driver.

Furthermore, Khor claims that since he had been on Ong’s left while the bullet that killed the driver came from the right, it was physically impossible for him to have shot Ong.

Prosecution withdrew Ong King Hock murder charge

Khor never stood trial for the murder of Ong King Hock.

The prosecution withdrew the murder charge against him in September 2004 and the gunman received a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, according to The Straits Times.

Khor found this disagreeable, requesting the judge to either give him a chance to prove he was innocent of Ong’s murder or be fully discharged with an acquittal for the murder.

However, the prosecution never gave a reason for dropping the charges despite Khor’s protests and the presiding judge’s inquiries, according to Shin Min Daily News.

The judge found 52-year-old Khor Kok Soon guilty of illegally discharging his firearm with intent to cause harm under the Arms Offences Act. He was sentenced to death.

Gunman’s daughter feels sorry for father

Khor Kok Soon was hanged in Changi Prison on an unspecified date after he lost his appeal.

After his capture and conviction, many of those affected by Khor’s actions were left with mixed feelings at best.

At the time of the shooting, Khor was married with two daughters. His 30-year-old elder daughter, who attended his trial, was devastated by the verdict.

The woman had lived a childhood filled with shunning and shame. Following the shooting, her mother raised the two children on her own.

The two girls also lived with the fear of their classmates finding out who their father was.

According to The New Paper, the elder daughter had visited her father in prison where he apologised for being absent during her childhood.

Khor’s daughter, who had forgiven him, was heartbroken that he could not prove his innocence in Ong’s murder.

A bitter aftertaste for Ong King Hock’s surviving family

The deceased’s family was also left confused by the trial.

Ong’s older brother said he was saddened that the person responsible for the murder was never brought to light, according to Lianhe Wanbao.

On the day of the shooting, Ong had been on his way to pay his brother’s traffic fines before Khor hopped onto his lorry.

Ong’s family had always closely followed the progress of the case. They felt some closure when a coroner judged Khor to be guilty of Ong’s murder in 1998.

However, this was all undone when Khor was not tried or convicted for the crime.

Ong’s brother said he felt heartbroken for his brother, as justice had not been served.

Ong King Hock’s murder officially remains unsolved.

Also read: The senseless murder of student Dini Haryati, whose body was found near Woodlands MRT

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force via The Straits Times and Google Maps

Buranond Kijwatanachai

I'm the kind of guy who says he loves reading, but the books I actually read have more pictures than words.

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