A NIGHT out turned fatal for Marcus Siah Wui Xiang, 18, after he was attacked on the way home.
After attending the Chinatown festive light-up last Friday night, Marcus and his three friends were walking to Clarke Quay to catch a bus just after midnight.
His friends were walking past a group of men sitting on some wooden benches along North Bridge Road when one of them stood up and asked accusingly in Hokkien: 'What are you all staring at?'
When the youngsters denied having stared at them, the men started to hit two of the boys in Marcus' group. One boy was hit on the head with a glass bottle.
Marcus then attempted to escape but the men apparently chased him. His friends were on the ground and were unable to see what happened, although they were not severely injured.
After recovering, Marcus' friends found him near the carpark of the Subordinate Courts, about 600m from where the attack began.
He was shaken and clearly unwell. Although Marcus had no visible injuries except for some bruises on his legs and a small cut on his face, he was unable to talk or walk properly. They were alarmed when he began vomiting, so they called for an ambulance.
He was warded at the Singapore General Hospital, where he remained lucid but traumatised. He spoke to his friends and told them that his only memory was of being chased by the men, who, he said, were wielding metal rods.
Marcus then underwent surgery last Saturday to remove a blood clot in his brain, caused by blunt-force trauma from the attack.
He appeared to be recovering, but his blood pressure began to fall on Tuesday afternoon and he died early yesterday morning.
At the family home in Bedok yesterday, Marcus' sister, Miss Melissa Siah, 21, said their 48-year-old mother was inconsolable .
The police are investigating the incident, which happened just after midnight last Saturday along Eu Tong Sen Street. Witnesses can call 1800-255-0000.
Marcus, 18, underwent surgery last Saturday to remove a blood clot in his brain caused by trauma from the attack. He appeared to be recovering but his blood pressure began to fall on Tuesday afternoon and he died early yesterday morning. -- PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
