Police officer who shot knife-wielding man in Bendemeer was not errant in use of firearm: Coroner

SINGAPORE: A police officer who shot a knife-wielding man at a Bendemeer housing block in 2022 had not been errant in his use of the gun, a Coroner found on Monday (Nov 4) during an inquiry into the death of the man, Ng Eng Kui.

Mr Ng, 64, died from a gunshot wound to his left chest on Mar 23, 2022.

The inquest into his death was held on Monday, with a Singapore Police Force investigating officer (IO), Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Desmond Ng taking the stand to detail findings from an investigation report.

Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam then delivered her brief findings of the case, ruling Mr Ng’s death to be an unfortunate misadventure. She found that the police officer had not been wrong to use his gun given the circumstances of the confrontation on Mar 23, and how Mr Ng had advanced on the officers while brandishing his knife. 

GAG ORDER ON POLICE OFFICERS’ IDENTITY

At the start of the hearing, deputy senior state counsel Sruthi Boppana applied for a gag order to protect the identities of the police officers involved in the case.

Ms Boppana said the application was on the basis that the officers were still with the Singapore Police Force, and there was concern that they might be harassed if identified, and their work jeopardised. 

Coroner Ponnampalam then asked if there had been incidents giving rise to the concern, or if similar orders had been made by other courts. 

Ms Boppana replied that there have not been any such incidents as the police officers’ identities remain unreported. She added that similar gag orders had been granted by other courts in relation to Ministry of Defence officers who had been witnesses for other cases. 

The Coroner accepted that there may be “some risk” to the police officers due to responses to this case and accordingly granted a gag order prohibiting the publication of any detail that may lead to the identification of the police officers. 

DECEASED HAD HISTORY OF DRUG ABUSE 

Mr Ng had been under investigation for offences including drug consumption and possession in the period before his death, the Coroner’s court heard. 

On Sep 8, 2021, Mr Ng had been arrested for throwing items down his block. Drugs were also found during a search of his residence, and the case was referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau for a parallel investigation. 

While under investigation, Mr Ng absconded and “remained elusive”. He was not arrested despite a police gazette issued. 

According to DSP Ng, Mr Ng was known to abuse drugs, and had tested positive for the use of drugs, including methamphetamine, during several hospital visits in 2021. 

On Mar 23, 2022, a few members of the public had alerted the police to Mr Ng’s behaviour after seeing him shouting Hokkien profanities and wielding a knife in the vicinity, including at an open air car park near Block 33 Bendemeer Road. 

Video footage from police cameras played in court showed Mr Ng, dressed in a white shirt and black shorts, climbing up and down the staircase at his block with a knife in hand at around 3.30pm. 

At one point, Mr Ng crossed an open air car park and confronted an unknown man, who jumped backwards in reaction and quickly walked away without further incident. 

In response to the calls, four police officers visited Mr Ng’s unit on the sixth floor of Block 33 Bendemeer Road from around 4.18pm.

CONFRONTATION AT DECEASED’S UNIT

Footage from the police officers’ body worn cameras was also played in court, depicting the chaos of the exchange between Mr Ng and the officers as it unfolded in the narrow corridor outside the unit. 

Officers who approached the unit saw that its door and gate were ajar, with the unit appearing empty. One then shouted into the unit, asking to speak to Mr Ng, who emerged from a room with a knife in his right hand. 

At this point, police officers began commanding Mr Ng to drop his knife, and drew their tasers to stand by. 

Still brandishing the knife, Mr Ng is seen shouting incoherently, triggering officers to deploy a taser at him. 

This appeared to have no effect on Mr Ng, who continued advancing on the officers. He tried to close the door on the officers, but one kicked the door open. As Mr Ng stepped out into the corridor, a second taser was deployed on him to no effect.  

DSP Ng said that taser probes needed to be attached to a person’s skin and at a wider area to be effective. In Mr Ng’s case, as both the suspect and officers were moving, the police were unable to say why the taser probes were dislodged.  

In the corridor, a police officer drew his pistol as Mr Ng continued to advance, mere metres away from the police.

Finding that there was imminent danger, a police officer shot the pistol at Mr Ng, around the same time as a third taser was deployed. 

Mr Ng then crouched and eventually collapsed face down onto the floor. The police officers then moved to remove the knife and render medical assistance to Mr Ng. 

Paramedics arrived at the scene at about 4.36pm and Mr Ng was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5.13pm. 

BRIEF FINDINGS

Having reviewed the investigation findings and the circumstances of the case, the police officer’s use of the firearm was justified, DSP Ng told the court. 

Mr Ng had been aggressive and uncooperative during the confrontation and still held the knife despite being warned to drop it, DSP Ng said. 

“Efforts to use the taser failed to deter his advances, and had (the police officer) not done what he had done, the outcome would have been worse for the officer and probably the general public,” said the IO. 

A post-mortem toxicology on Mr Ng found illicit drugs in his body, including methamphetamine. Swabs from his fingernails of his right hand also tested positive for traces of methamphetamine. Officers who searched Mr Ng’s residence after the incident also found drugs. 

Delivering her brief findings, Coroner Ponnampalam said that there was no basis to suspect foul play in Mr Ng’s case. 

“I accept that there was no errant discharge of firearm by the police officer,” she said. 

The police had been confronted with an agitated, aggressive suspect who had wielded a knife.

“It became increasingly clear that he was not going to surrender peacefully,” said the Coroner, adding that the tasers had proven ineffective. 

As Mr Ng advanced to officers with knife in hand, the police officer had felt that there was little room to retreat, which compromised their safety, she added. 

In view of the illicit drugs discovered and the fingernail swabs, Coroner Ponnampalam found that Mr Ng had likely been under the influence of drugs, which was also consistent with Mr Ng’s history of drug abuse.

Coroner Ponnampalam will deliver the full findings of the case at a later date.