Murder of Huang Na#Fate of Took Leng How

{{Short description|2004 child rape and murder case in Singapore}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Huang Na

| image = HuangNa.jpg

| caption =

| native_name = 黄娜

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1996|09|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Putian, Fujian, China

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|10|10|1996|09|26|df=y}}

| death_place = Pasir Panjang, Queenstown, Singapore

| death_cause = Murdered

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality =

| other_names =

| known_for = Murder victim

| education =

| employer =

| occupation =

| father = Huang Qingrong

| mother = Huang Shuying

| title =

| height = 1.2 meters

| spouse =

| children =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Huang Na ({{zh|c=黄娜|links=no}}; 26 September 1996{{spaced ndash}}10 October 2004) was an eight-year-old Chinese national residing in Pasir Panjang, Singapore, who disappeared on 10 October 2004. Her mother, the police and the community conducted a three-week-long nationwide search for her. After her body was found, many Singaporeans attended her wake and funeral, giving bai jin (contributions towards funeral expenses) and gifts. In a high-profile 14-day trial, Malaysian-born Took Leng How ({{zh|c=卓良豪|p=Zhuó Liángháo|labels=no}}), a vegetable packer at the wholesale centre, was found guilty of murdering her and hanged after an appeal and a request for presidential clemency failed.

Background

Huang Na's father, Huang Qingrong ({{lang|zh|黄庆荣}}), and mother, Huang Shuying ({{lang|zh|黄淑英}}), were both born in 1973 to farming families in Putian city in Fujian, China. They met in 1995 and married soon after, as Shuying was pregnant with Huang Na. In 1996, Qinrong left China to seek his fortune in Singapore and worked illegally as a vegetable packer at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. When Shuying found out that he was having affairs in Singapore, she divorced him and was given custody of Huang Na.{{cite news | title=Real dad: How our family broke up | date=7 November 2004 | agency=The Straits Times}} She later married Zheng Wenhai ({{lang|zh|郑文海}}),"She always wanted my surname", The New Paper, 4 November 2004. [http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/newpaper20041103-1 Available from] NLB Libraries Multimedia Stations. a Fujian businessman with whom she had lived for four years, and became pregnant with his child in early 2003."Yes, I lied", The New Paper, 23 November 2004.

In May 2003, Shuying immigrated to Singapore as a peidu mama accompanying Huang Na, who was enrolled in Jin Tai Primary School. They lived at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where Shuying worked."A dream for Huang Na", The New Paper, 2 November 2004. People from the wholesale centre and Jin Tai Primary School described Huang Na as an intelligent, independent, sociable and active child."Huang Na touches nation's heart", The Straits Times, 22 October 2004. Huang Na became friends with Took Leng How, a vegetable packer at the wholesale centre."Who is the real Took?", The Straits Times, 31 July 2005."He's not the one and he would never hurt her", The New Paper, 23 October 2004. Born in Malaysia on 16 December 1981 as the second child of a close-knit family of four, Took came to Singapore when he was 18, seeking better-paying jobs."Sentenced to death", TODAY, 27 August 2005. At the wholesale centre, Took, who married an Indonesian Chinese woman and had a son, often played with Huang Na, bought her food and gave her rides on his motorcycle.

Disappearance and reaction

Huang Na went missing on 10 October 2004, last being seen at a food court near the wholesale centre. She was wearing a blue denim jacket, bermuda shorts, and was barefoot. From 7 a.m. to past midnight every day for three weeks, Shuying looked across the island for her daughter. The police, including a Criminal Investigation Department team, conducted an intensive search for the girl, and officers carried photographs of her while on their daily rounds."Mother searches hills for missing daughter", The Straits Times, 20 October 2004. Volunteers formed search parties and Crime Library Singapore, a voluntary group dedicated to finding missing persons, distributed over 70,000 leaflets appealing for information.{{cite web | archive-date=28 June 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628002943/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/114549/1/.html | url-status=live | url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/114549/1/.html | title=Singapore police believe body found is that of missing girl | date=31 October 2004 | access-date=26 September 2018}} Local taxi company ComfortDelGro asked its cabbies to join in the search effort.{{cite news | access-date=20 September 2018 | url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/guilty-as-charged-huang-na-8-killed-by-man-she-treated-as-an-uncle | title=Guilty As Charged: Huang Na, 8, killed by man she treated as an uncle | work=The Straits Times | date=17 May 2016 | language=en | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920084349/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/guilty-as-charged-huang-na-8-killed-by-man-she-treated-as-an-uncle | archive-date=20 September 2018 | url-status=live }}

Two Singaporeans offered rewards of S$10,000 and S$5,000 for finding Huang Na,"Search for Huang Na widens to Johor Bahru", The Straits Times, 27 October 2004. while the manager of an online design company set up a website to raise awareness and gather tips. The search even extended to Malaysia, with volunteers putting up posters in the nearby cities of Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Reportedly, at least 30 cabbies also placed posters of Huang Na on the rear windscreens and front seats of their vehicles. At least five coffee-shop owners in Johor Jaya, Taman Yew, and Skudai put up posters as well.

On 19 and 20 October, Singaporean police questioned Took as part of their investigation. He told the officers that three Chinese men kidnapped the girl."DPP locks horns with defence psychiatrist", The Straits Times, 27 July 2005. After questioning Took, police accompanied him home, then back to the police station for a polygraph test. On the way, they stopped at a restaurant along Pasir Panjang Road for a meal. While eating, Took said he needed to go to the toilet, used the opportunity to escape, took a taxi to Woodlands and sneaked across the Causeway to Malaysia."It was a game gone wrong", TODAY, 14 July 2005."He lured her into her trap", The New Paper, 13 July 2005. Singaporean police searched for him until he turned himself in on 30 October, confessing that he had accidentally strangled Huang Na during a game of hide-and-seek in a storeroom. The following day, Huang Na's body was found at Telok Blangah Hill Park, and Took was charged with her murder. Direct Singapore Funeral Services oversaw her funeral for free. Thousands attended Huang Na's wake and funeral; some gave bai jin and gifts, such as sweets, flowers and her favourite Hello Kitty merchandise. However, some Singaporeans tried to make money from the girl's death by buying 4D numbers associated with her. Others spread rumours that Shuying was having affairs and was greedy for donations."Shocking how fast you change your tune", The New Paper, 30 November 2004.

Fate of Took Leng How

{{Infobox murderer

| name = Took Leng How

| birth_date = {{birth date|1981|12|16|df=y}}

| image = Image:TookLengHow.jpg

| birth_place = Penang, Malaysia

| death_date = {{death date and age|2006|11|3|1981|12|16|df=y}}

| death_place = Changi Prison, Changi, Singapore

| death_cause = Execution by hanging

| partners =

| conviction = Murder

| sentence = Death (date of sentencing: 27 August 2005)

| apprehended = 30 October 2004

| victims = 1

| date = 10 October 2004

| country = Singapore

| states =

| criminal status = Executed

| alias = Ah How/Ah Took

}}

=Trial at High Court=

The 14-day trial of Took began on 11 July 2005, before Justice Lai Kew Chai in the High Court. Took was represented by prominent lawyer Subhas Anandan and two other lawyers, Sunil Sudheesan and Anand Nalachandran. The prosecution relied on 76 witnesses, a video in which Took re-enacted the murder, forensic evidence and an autopsy that found several bruises on Huang Na's head. Based on the evidence, the prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Lawrence Ang, alleged that Took lured Huang Na to the storeroom, then stripped and sexually assaulted her. After smothering and stomping on her to ensure her death, he stored her body in nine layers of plastic bags stuffed into a sealed cardboard box."A bag of mangoes led Huang Na to her death", TODAY, 12 July 2005.{{Cite book|last=Porter|first=Liz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fb5IDwAAQBAJ|title=Crime Scene Asia: When forensic evidence becomes the silent witness|date=15 November 2017|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|isbn=978-981-4794-54-1|language=en|chapter=Little girl lost}} However, there was no conclusive proof that Huang Na had been sexually assaulted due to her body’s high state of decomposition and the absence of semen in her vaginal area. The cause of her death was also determined inconclusive due to the possibility that she had died from a seizure or other cause unrelated to Took's alleged actions. The principal determination was that asphyxia was the cause of her death.

The defence relied on the claim of diminished responsibility. Psychiatrist R. Nagulendran argued that Took was schizophrenic, as some of his behaviour, such as frequently smiling to himself and talking of spirits, was inappropriate, and that he had no motive for the murder. Nagulendran also called Took's story about the three Chinese men a delusion. Anandan said that during his conversations with Took, the defendant would frequently start ranting about irrelevant things the lawyer could not understand. This resulted in his decision to keep Took from taking the stand. Instead, he allowed a psychiatrist to testify on Took’s behalf. Took’s police statements contained numerous discrepancies from the many different accounts of what happened to Huang Na. Took's low IQ of 76 was also noted by his defence. However, the prosecution's psychiatrist, G. Sathyadevan, insisted that Took did not suffer from any abnormality of mind.

On 27 August 2005, Justice Lai found Took guilty of murder and sentenced him to death. In his judgement, Justice Lai noted that Took had no history of mental abnormality, the behaviour the defence cited was "not necessarily abnormal", and the murder was "clearly the product of a cold and calculating mind". Justice Lai also said it was unnecessary to determine the motive for the murder or whether a sexual assault had taken place."Why hang him?", The New Paper, 28 August 2005.

=Execution=

Took appealed the death sentence, but the Court of Appeal of Singapore upheld the decision in January 2006 by a 2–1 decision. Chief Justice of Singapore Yong Pung How and Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin agreed with Justice Lai's decision to convict Took of murder, while High Court judge Kan Ting Chiu disagreed with the murder conviction due to the cause of death being inconclusive. In his dissenting judgement, Justice Kan felt that the appropriate conviction for Took should be voluntarily causing hurt and the maximum penalty Took should receive would be a year's imprisonment.

Later, Took's family and relatives decided to submit a clemency plea to the President of Singapore, S. R. Nathan, which would allow Took's sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment if accepted. Eventually, they gathered 35,000 signatures from members of the public and submitted it to Nathan, who took eight months to consider before he decided to reject the plea in October 2006."Took's clemency plea rejected", TODAY, 24 October 2006.

On the morning of 3 November 2006, 24-year-old Took Leng How was hanged in Changi Prison.

Aftermath

=Fate of Huang Na's family=

Zheng and Shuying returned to Putian where their daughter Huang Na was buried in a tomb halfway up a mountain near their house."Huang Na's final resting place", The New Paper, 27 December 2004. While alive, Huang Na had asked that her surname be changed to her stepfather's, so her altar tablet bore the name Zheng Na. The couple decided to focus on raising their remaining child, with Zheng planning to pursue business opportunities in Guangzhou or Shenzhen. In January 2007, three years after Huang Na's death, Jack Neo considered making a movie about the murder, but both families objected."Jack Neo may poll public on Huang Na film", The Straits Times, 20 January 2007 A follow-up report in 2009 found that Shuying had given birth to another two children and was running a shoe distribution business in Taiwan."黄娜母亲在台湾生子做生意", Lianhe Wanbao, 8 April 2009.

=Publications=

The murder of Huang Na was considered a notable crime that shook Singapore. In July 2015, Singapore's national daily newspaper, The Straits Times, published an e-book titled Guilty As Charged: 25 Crimes That Have Shaken Singapore Since 1965, which included the Huang Na murder case. The book was the product of collaboration between the Singapore Police Force and the newspaper itself. The e-book was edited by ST News Associate editor Abdul Hafiz bin Abdul Samad. The paperback edition of the book was published and first hit the bookshelves in late June 2017. The paperback edition first entered the ST bestseller list on 8 August 2017, a month after its publication.{{Cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/guilty-as-charged-25-crimes-that-have-shaken-singapore-since-1965|title=Guilty As Charged: Shocking crimes that have shaken Singapore since 1965|website=The Straits Times|date=14 May 2016|access-date=22 October 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/guilty-as-charged-25-crimes-that-shook-singapore|title=Guilty As Charged: 25 crimes that shook Singapore|website=The Straits Times|date=8 August 2017|access-date=22 October 2020}}

The case of Took Leng How was widely regarded as one of the notable cases taken by veteran lawyer Subhas Anandan, along with those of Leong Siew Chor (who killed and dismembered his lover in 2005), Anthony Ler (who hired a teen to murder his wife in 2001), and Tan Chor Jin (who robbed and gunned down a nightclub owner in 2006). Subhas recorded Took's case in his memoir The Best I Could, which was first published in 2009. In the memoir, Subhas firmly believed even after Took's execution that Took did not deserve to be sentenced to death, believed that his client was mentally ill, and that the murder conviction was wrong. Subhas also expressed that he was greatly disappointed that Took lost his appeal against the death sentence,{{cite book|author=Anandan|first=Subhas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_z6sgEACAAJ|title=The Best I Could|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Editions|year=2015|isbn=978-981-4677-81-3|author-link=Subhas Anandan}} which was supported by his 28-year-old son Sujesh Anandan when he spoke to The Straits Times four years after his 67-year-old father's death from heart failure in 2015.

Sujesh, who was Subhas's first and only child, told the reporters that when he was a teen, he witnessed his father being greatly affected by the appeal verdict of Took's case and took it badly. Sunil Sudheesan, one of the two lawyers assisting Subhas in defending Took Leng How, said that he and the other lawyer, Anand Nalachandran, were also shaken by the case like Subhas. After Took was executed, Subhas secretly attended Took's funeral together with two other lawyers who assisted him in Took's case.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mewatch.sg/en/series/the-best-i-could-s1/ep2/314211|title=The Best I Could S1 - EP2|date=3 November 2014|website=meWATCH|access-date=25 October 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/son-of-law-legend-has-big-shoes-to-fill|title=Son of 'law legend' Subhas Anandan has big shoes to fill|website=The Straits Times|date=16 April 2019|access-date=25 October 2020}}

Liz Porter, a crime writer from Australia, included Huang Na's case in her book Crime Scene Asia: When Forensic Evidence Becomes the Silent Witness. The book was about murder cases from Asia that were solved through forensic evidence; these recorded cases came from Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

In November 2023, the Chinese-language crime show Inside Crime Scene covered the case of Huang Na, as well as the unsolved murder of Goh Beng Choo, in the first episode of the show's second season.{{Cite web |title=Inside Crime Scene 狮城奇案之罪案现场 |url=https://www.mewatch.sg/watch/Inside-Crime-Scene-S2-E1-Missing-418675 |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=mewatch |language=en}}