Teen hacked in front of crowd at Downtown East

Nov 1, 2010

By Mavis Toh

This area of Downtown East was cordoned off by the police after Darren Ng Wei Jie, 19, was attacked by a group of youth. It is believed Darren?s attackers produced choppers and slashed him several times. According to witnesses, the bleeding teenager and his friends tried to escape by running towards a row of indoor restaurants (seen in background). -- PHOTOS: LIANHE WANBAO, SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

HALLOWEEN horror became real on Saturday night at Downtown East.
A 19-year-old youth repeatedly hacked by a group of youngsters in full view of a crowd died in hospital hours later. The violent attack and subsequent attempt by the youth and his friends to flee left a 500m-long trail of blood at the Pasir Ris resort and amusement park.
No one has been arrested and police have classified the case as murder.
Darren Ng Wei Jie was with two friends when they got into a 'staring incident' with a group of about 10 teenagers.
Witnesses The Straits Times spoke to said the encounter started with angry words, but this deteriorated into a brawl on the lawn just outside fast-food restaurant McDonald's.
It is believed Darren's attackers produced choppers and slashed him several times. The bleeding teenager and his friends tried to escape by running towards a row of indoor restaurants and shops called The Alley.
The Straits Times understands the two groups did not know each other and were not guests at the Downtown East resort.
A witness manning a pushcart stall, who declined to be named, said she saw five men - two holding choppers - chasing after Darren and his friends.
Another witness, the owner of a restaurant, said she did not pay much attention to the youths at first, thinking that they were just fooling around. It was when she saw the bleeding boy crash into a glass panel in his rush to get away that she knew something was amiss.
She said: 'He crashed into the glass and fell to the ground. That was when the group caught up and kept bashing him.
'Then I saw them use two choppers and hack him several times. Blood was gushing everywhere.'
The Straits Times understands that Darren suffered multiple cuts to his limbs, back and, most seriously, his abdomen.
The attackers fled towards a foodcourt in the direction of an open carpark near Pasir Ris Drive 3 and disappeared in the crowd taking shelter from the ongoing heavy downpour.
Darren's friend, who was cut in his upper lip, was afraid that their attackers would return. Thus he dragged Darren into The Alley. The pair staggered from Popeyes restaurant down a row of shops and up the stairs to Sakura International Buffet restaurant on the second floor, leaving a trail of blood.
Restaurant supervisor Iman Noor, 35, said Darren collapsed outside his premises, and that a medical student who was there tried putting pressure on Darren's wound, but could not stem the bleeding.
A Downtown East spokesman said they were alerted at about 6pm that someone had sustained a 'serious injury' in its premises.
Darren was pronounced dead at Changi General Hospital about five hours later.
The young man's parents and friends, who turned up at the mortuary yesterday morning, were distraught and declined to speak to reporters.
His father would only say between sobs: 'Let justice be done.'
Darren is believed to have been in his third year at Republic Polytechnic and also in its water-polo team.