Man punches and kills friend over an argument about mobile phones

Singapore — Lim Yong Hwee and Goh Khai Beng met at the Institute of Mental Health and became friends. An argument broke out between the two, and Lim ended up punching Goh who fell backwards and cracked his head.

According to a report by Today,Mr Lim (39) was previously convicted,  jailed, and fined over the past two years for various crimes such as theft, criminal intimidation, causing hurt, causing alarm, and trespassing.

Mr Lim was a notorious shoplifter. In 2018 alone, he was jailed three times for shop theft.

In Dec 2018, he pocketed and ran off with a Samsung mobile phone while the shop attendant was talking to another customer.

After a cat and mouse chase, Mr Lim got arrested but got out on bail.

In Jan 2019,Mr Lim stole a pair of shoes from the Mustafa centre department store. The security guard noticed Lim stuffing an old pair of shoes into his bag as he wore the new stolen pair. He committed a similar offence later on.

Mr Lim met Mr Goh (56) at the National Addictions Management Service at the Institute of Mental Health. They were both treated for addictions but were discharged in Dec 2018.

Having shared a significant amount of time at the centre, Mr Lim and Mr Goh became friends.

Unfortunately, Mr Lim lost money from a night of gambling on Jan 10, 2019. Unemployed and unable to pay the debt, Mr Lim borrowed S$50 from Mr Goh who agreed to give him the money.

They met up at People’s Park Complex since Mr Goh expressed an interest to buy a new phone.

After an afternoon of browsing shops at the complex, Mr Goh did not find the phone he wanted.

Mr Lim told Mr Goh that the shops already offered the best prices.

According to court documents, Mr Lim commented that “[Goh] wanted the mobile phone to be cheap and good — as if the [he] wanted to drive a Mercedes Benz but was only willing to pay for the price of a Nissan car.”

Mr Goh was offended and told Mr Lim they should “settle the matter.” Mr Goh picked up his old phone, but Mr Lim assumed he was calling for back up to the fight.

Outside the Banana Leaf Apolo restaurant, Mr Lim punched Mr Goh in the face, resulting in him falling backwards and cracking his head on the pavement.

Mr Lim ran off in a taxi, as Mr Goh was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was pronounced dead the next day due to head injuries.

On Thursday (Aug 22), Mr Lim pleaded guilty to three charges of causing hurt and theft and now faces a year and 14 weeks in jail. He also faces 12 additional days of jail time for breaching a remission order. -/TISG

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