On 14 July 1993, 50-year-old sub-contractor Sim Ah Lek (沈亚利 Shěn Yàlì), who was also a moneylender, was killed by 37-year-old Phua Soy Boon (潘瑞文 Pān Ruìwén), who was his creditor, after he refused Sim's request to lend him S$10,000. After killing Sim, Phua stole Sim's Rolex watch, diamond ring and S$9,000 in cash, and even stuffed the dead body inside a gunny sack before disposing of it at Jurong Swimming Complex, where it was found the next morning.
After 39 hours of police investigations, Phua was arrested and charged three days after the murder, and despite putting up a defence of an accidental killing, Phua was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death on 6 May 1994. Phua was hanged at Changi Prison on 16 June 1995 after failing to overturn his death sentence through appeal.
Discovery of Sim's body
On the morning of 15 July 1993, a passer-by discovered a gunny sack at a carpark, and the sack contained the body of a man with his neck slashed and his hands bound with string. The body was partially stuffed inside the sack, and a bloodstained shoeprint was discovered nearby the crime scene.
The victim was identified as 50-year-old Sim Ah Lek, who worked as a contractor and also engaged in illegal money lending activities. Sim, who was married with four children, did not return home for the night and he was therefore reported missing four hours before his body was discovered. It was deduced by police that the murder did not take place at the complex since there were signs that the body was moved here after the killing took place somewhere else. Sim's Rolex watch, a diamond ring and a total of S$9,000 in cash were missing.
According to his family, neighbors and friends, Sim was polite and kind, and never had any conflicts with people over money. They also stated that it was shocking that someone would violently kill Sim. Five of Sim's friends and relatives, including his nephew, tried to identify the body but they were not allowed to enter the crime scene. Sim's wife said that she last saw her husband going out for an appointment but she never knew who was he meeting, and Sim's nephew said that Sim would not make appointments with anyone except for people he personally knew.
Arrest of suspect
On 16 July 1993, a day after the discovery of the body, a 36-year-old suspect was arrested for killing Sim Ah Lek, after 39 hours of police investigations. The suspect, Phua Soy Boon, a jobless Singaporean who lived at a flat in Jurong's Yung Kuang Road, was charged on 17 July 1993 with murder. Phua was interviewed after the phone records recovered by the police showed that Phua was the last person to call Sim before his death, and they arrested Phua at his home after the police discovered a bloodstained pair of shorts inside his washing machine and a few more bloodstains at the kitchen. Sim's missing watch, ring and S$6,000 in cash were also recovered, and there were also bloodstains found on the stolen money. It was also mentioned in the charge sheet that Phua had killed Sim inside his home at Yung Kuang Road.
Phua made a confession after his arrest, admitting that he killed Sim, from whom he borrowed a sum of S$30,000 before. He admitted that he began to gamble since the end of his National Service and the time he worked at his mother's hawker stall. He stated that he started borrowing money from loan sharks to feed his gambling habit and solve his bad financial situation, which worsened after his mother fell ill and passed on the hawker job to his eldest brother, and this also made him lose his job. Phua added that his financial situation worsened to the extent that he had to borrow from his two elder brothers, the younger of whom worked as a police officer. His total debt amounted to more than S$10,000.
Phua recounted to the police that on the day of the murder, he invited Sim to his home, wanting to borrow another S$10,000 from Sim, due to his need for money to pay his father's medical fees. However, not only did Sim refused to lend Phua the money, he even confronted him and demanded that he return to him the sum of S$30,000 that he owed Sim. Having no other options left and being pushed to his limits, Phua decided to, in a spur of moment, rob Sim of his valuables and took a chopper from his kitchen to threaten Sim to hand over his watch and money. However, Sim tried to run to the gate of Phua's flat, and therefore, Phua used the chopper to inflict two blows at Sim on the neck, resulting in Sim to die from his neck wounds. Phua even took away Sim's Rolex watch, diamond ring and S$9,000 in cash. Phua had used the stoeln cash to pay off his debts he owed to his brothers, and the money were recovered from them.