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Someone else's knife

Ler even schooled the teenager in the best way to commit the deed. At the end of his high-profile trial, Ler was eventually given the death sentence. His young accomplice escaped near death due to his age.

The motivation behind the murder was Ler's greed: Desiring to gain ownership of the couple's property, Ler offered the boy S$100,000 to do his dirty business. Together, they plotted out the details of the murder.

Ler arranged to sign some documents with Madam Leong while the boy waited for her to return at her apartment. Upon Madam Leong's return, he attacked her with a knife.

Ler was apprehended with damning evidence found in his computer. Following the murder, the pair communicated with each other by typing beside each other in a Microsoft Word document for fear of being overheard. However, though Ler did not save the files, the police were able to retrieve the chat messages using advanced software.

During his trial, Ler tried to defend himself by claiming the idea to murder Madam Leong had been a joke. It was no laughing matter, as Ler realised. He was hanged in December 2001.

Seen and Heard

These law-violators may or may not have caused a storm across the island, but you might find some of them familiar.

Shankar Aiyar, 16 months jail, 4 strokes of the cane: an ex TV presenter sentenced for outraging the modest of his colleague. Shankar brought her to his home after the 30-year-old woman became tipsy at a party. He thought he detected signs of flirting at the party, but the woman's reaction after she found herself naked in his bed a few hours later showed that he had read the wrong signs.

Quek Loo Ming, 15 years jail: a prankster who poisoned a woman to death and warded two others. Quek devised the malicious retaliation because he thought he suffered unfair treatment. At a New Year's Eve celebration in his community, he added pesticide to some mineral water. He was jailed in 2002.

Chia Teck Leng, 42 years jail: a finance manager at Asia Pacific Breweries involved in Singapore's largest case of commercial fraud. S$117 million was siphoned from 4 banks until 2003 by Chia who gambled at high stakes in casinos. His prosecutors labelled him a crook who betrayed their trust, but his sons pleaded for Chia in a letter to the judge which showed Chia's softer and loving side.

Raymond Pok, 23 years jail, 24 strokes of the cane: an assistant engineer who used internet chat rooms to lure young girls into sleeping with him. He preyed on the empathy of his victims by presenting himself as a teenager who had undergone heartbreaks. His victims were only between 13 and 14. He was jailed in 2003.

Tan Chun Seng, 10 years jail: a man innocently going for supper got into a fight after someone knocked the window of his brand new car. In a moment of rage, Tan hit the companion of the person who knocked the car, but the blow was fatal.