SINGAPORE — A former altar boy who, along with his stepfather, is accused of fatally assaulting a former friend, gave evidence that he did not mean to kill the man. He took matters into his own hands only when he got no help from the police or his Member of Parliament.

Both Ryan Xavier Tay Seet Choong, now 24, and his stepfather Lawrence Lim Peck Beng, now 58, have been charged with causing grievous hurt to Shawn Ignatius Rodrigues, 26, on July 9, 2016.

They are accused of assaulting Rodrigues, a full-time national serviceman (NSF) then. It was so violent that he eventually died at the scene, near a lift landing of Block 279, Yishun Street 22, from traumatic asphyxia with a head injury.

Taking the stand for the first time on Wednesday (March 11) since the trial began on Feb 11, Tay told the court that he had endured years of harassment from Rodrigues.

Questioned by his lawyer Peter Low, Tay related that the harassment stemmed from a series of events that started when they were both serving as altar boys at the Catholic Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Yishun in 2006. Tay was aged 10 at the time, while Rodrigues was 16.

The court heard previously that Rodrigues developed “a special liking” for Tay after he defended him from bullies in church, but the pair fell out after Rodrigues was banned from the church for stealing coins.

When Rodrigues rejoined the church around 2014, he began following Tay and used Tay's childhood photograph as his own profile picture on WhatsApp, saying that he liked it.

Tay said on Wednesday that he decided to leave the church two months after Rodrigues’ return.

“I was uncomfortable (that) he kept pestering me about my personal life,” he said.

Rodrigues started appearing near Tay’s home in Yishun around this time, and would constantly send him text messages on the phone. “He would (even) follow me back home... But there was no interaction (between us),” Tay said.

This conduct, which ranged from constant calls and text messages to physical encounters, continued until Tay enlisted for National Service in 2016.

Tay said that he tried telling Rodrigues many times that he did not like what he was doing, but it fell on deaf ears.

‘I’LL CATCH RODRIGUES FOR THEM’

During this period, Tay told a probation officer about his troubles with Rodrigues. The officer was assigned to Tay for an act of theft he committed as a student. 

Tay said that he was uncertain if the probation officer believed him, or if any follow-up action was taken on his behalf.

A total of 59 police reports were made against Rodrigues. The court heard that the first report was filed around April 2015 and that most were from Tay’s mother.

“Why did your mother lodge so many reports?” Mr Low asked.

“Mostly because he was harassing my mother. Either him harassing my mum or him coming to my house,” Tay replied.

He added that despite the constant complaints to the police, he was told there was little they could do.

“They (the police) always gave the excuse of (Rodrigues’ actions) not being an arrestable offence…(because) he did not cause any physical harm.”

Tay added later that his stepfather had raised the issue with their Member of Parliament. He did not state who it was, only that no one followed up on it.

He also spoke about how Rodrigues was called to attend a mediation session with Tay’s mother and stepfather, but it did not stop him from harassing the family.

The court was told that Rodrigues had not only allegedly molested Tay’s mother, he had also allegedly strangled one of Tay’s elderly neighbours.

“If the police cannot protect my family, who else can?” Tay asked. “Since the police kept insisting that they cannot catch Shawn (Rodrigues), I catch Shawn for them, lah.”

He clarified that he meant he wanted to detain Rodrigues and hand him over to the authorities.

On July 9, 2016, Tay scuffled with Rodrigues after chasing him away from his flat. Tay stamped on Rodrigues’ shoulder, punching his face and head numerous times, forcefully pushing his face to the ground and pressing his knee on Rodrigues’ back for about 20 minutes.

‘YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING’

During Tay’s cross-examination by the prosecution, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jason Chua suggested to Tay that he deliberately tried to cause hurt to Rodrigues.

As he questioned Tay, he referred to investigation reports that stated Rodrigues would have had trouble breathing due to the knee on his back.

“You knew that what you were doing was putting Shawn’s life in danger,” DPP Chua said.

Tay disagreed, saying he would not have known it at the time. “I know (for instance) the neck is the most important part for breathing, so I did not press (my knee) on that.”

He was concerned that Rodrigues would choke on his own blood and tilted his head to ensure it would not happen.

The court heard previously that Rodrigues had been punched so severely by Tay that it had left a small pool of blood near his face.

Tay’s testimony continues on Thursday.