Few news articles about taking upskirt photos end with a death, but that’s exactly what happened in Nov last year.
A 46-year-old man, Andrew Ho Chee Meng, was chased down and subsequently restrained after he was caught trying to take upskirt photos on an escalator.
By the time police arrived, however, Ho was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
Now, it turns out that it wasn’t the fault of the vigilantes at all, as it was a “natural disease process”.
The Stress of the Chase Contributed to Death
A coroner has squashed claims that witnesses used excessive force or were overly aggressive with Ho when they restrained him.
According to the pathologist, the cause of death was hypothyroid cardiomyopathy, a “natural disease process”.
Ho reportedly had a history of hypothyroidism, which can cause the heart to pump too vigorously or weakly.
This can easily be treated, but Ho is said to have had a “history of poor compliance” with his medication.
Already vulnerable to death due to his condition, the pathologist believes it was the stress of the chase and subsequent restraint that contributed to his death.
“There were no findings on examination of the body to suggest that (Mr Ho) would have died from his disease condition, if not from the stress of strain and struggle”, the pathologist said.
Restrained by Three Men
On 1 Nov 2019, Ng Kim Tong noticed Ho attempting to snap an upskirt photo of a woman who was standing in front of him on an escalator.
Ng shouted, and Ho began running.
Another witness, Nardozi Thierry, joined Ng in the pursuit after he heard the commotion.
Ho then ran out of an MRT station into an open carpark, and a third man, Rudy Iskandar Khan, joined the chase.
They eventually managed to nab Ho on a pavement outside 56 Niven Road and restrained him in a prone position on the ground.
The men held on to his arms and Nardozi placed his knee on the back of Ho’s thighs.
Nardozi also took away Ho’s handphone to prevent him from deleting any photographs.
Shortly after, Ho’s victim arrived at the scene and called the police.
Then, another man who was driving by stopped to investigate the commotion. He offered to step in for Ng after he took a video of the incident.
At this point, Ho, who was struggling this whole time, started vomiting.
A fifth man, Racmat Hidayattullah Hasbullah, who was Rudy’s brother, took over from him and held on to Ho’s right arm.
When the police arrived on the scene and tapped Ho on the shoulder, the 46-year-old did not respond.
One of the men who was restraining Ho said he was putting on an act, but this was not the case.
When officers finally turned Ho around, they saw that his eyes and mouth were open, and he had vomit on his face.
They called for an ambulance as they could not detect a pulse.
Officers performed CPR on Ho but to no avail. Ho was pronounced dead at the scene.
More “Prudent” to Seek Police Assistance
Helping out law enforcement by protecting members of the public from criminals is certainly commendable, but it may not always be safe.
As the coroner observed, none of the men restraining Ho had eased off when they saw him vomiting or noticed that he had stopped struggling.
“When (Mr Ho) was lying prone on the ground, most of them had observed that (he) had vomited, but no attempt was made to reposition him or to actively check that he was well,” the coroner said.
“It was clear from the video footage that (Mr Ho) had stopped struggling and was lying motionless on the ground for some three minutes, but the witnesses either did not observe this or did not think that it was significant.”
While people are not “specifically discouraged” from helping those in need, the coroner said, it would be more “prudent” to seek police assistance as they are trained to restrain suspects.
Read Also: Everything You Need to Know About the CNB Operation That Resulted in The Death Of a Suspected Drug Dealer
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