By Chong Shin Yen

HE was generous and would lend money to people in need.

But after his sudden death, many of them kept quiet about the loans.

Mr Teo Chye Huat's family has recovered only about $2,000 of the estimated $10,000 that he lent.

But what pains them the most is that he was killed by his drinking buddy, Tan Chye Hong (above), whom he had helped in the past.

Mr Teo, a 49-year-old painter, had gone to recover a $700 loan from Tan on 5 Jul last year when he was attacked.

He died from brain injuries after being in a coma for 37 days.

Yesterday, Tan was jailed for 31/2 years and given six strokes of the cane.

The former sales consultant was originally charged with murder but it was later reduced to voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

Mr Teo's wife, Madam Chue Lai Lin, 48, told The New Paper that after his death, some of his close friends told her that he had lent more than $10,000 to various people.

At her husband's wake, one friend returned $2,000, which he said he had borrowed.

Said Madam Chue, a sales assistant: 'No one else came to return money to me and I don't know who they are or how much each person borrowed.

'But they should know that we are not rich. If they don't repay the loan, they will have to live with their conscience.'

The court heard that Mr Teo left his Circuit Road flat on 5 Jul at about 11pm after receiving a call from Tan.

The long-time drinking buddies had earlier arranged to meet each other at Block 79, Circuit Road, so Tan could settle his debt.

But they quarrelled after Tan returned only $200 out of the $700 he owed.

Tan punched Mr Teo, who had kicked him, and continued his attack even after the latter fell to the ground.

When Mr Teo tried to get up, Tan kicked him twice on the head, causing him to fall once again.

Flees after attack

After the attack, Tan fled as Mr Teo lay on the pavement near a bus stop next to a hawker centre at Block 79.

He was later taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he slipped into a coma and died on 11 Aug.

Tan was arrested at his Circuit Road flat the next day.

Both men's wives were in court yesterday but did not talk to each other.

Madam Chue said she wanted to seek closure. She said her husband was someone who never turned down his friends' requests for help.

'I never asked him about his loans to his friends as he would always brush me off by saying it's okay,' she said.

Madam Chue said she knew Tan, whom her husband had introduced to her, and had spoken to him a few times.

'He and my husband, together with their other friends, would meet and drink (beer) regularly at the hawker centre near our house,' said Madam Chue.

'I knew my husband had lent him some money but I never asked him how much. They had known each other for a few years. I didn't expect him to be the one who killed my husband.'

Madam Chue recalled that on that fateful night, her husband received a call from Tan just as he was about to sleep.

'He told me that he was going to the nearby hawker centre to meet his friend, who wanted to return some money,' she said.

'I told him not to go as it was late. But he said he would be gone for only a while.'

When Mr Teo did not return by 3am, Madam Chue called his handphone but there was no answer.

A doctor later called her to inform her that her husband was in hospital with serious head injuries.

The couple have three daughters, aged 24 to 30.

Madam Chue said Tan's family did not attend her husband's wake or apologise to her after his death.

In his mitigation, Tan's lawyer, Mr Anand Nalachandran, said Tan was depressed and had developed an alcohol dependence after quarrelling with his wife in September 2007.

Tan, who is married with three young children, also faced credit card debts and impending bankruptcy at that time.

He said Tan was drunk when he met Mr Teo, and had 'impaired impulse control and judgement'.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Tan could have been jailed for 10 years and caned.

This article was first published in The New Paper.