Before the start of the trial, despite having such a serious sentence on his head, Tan decided to dismiss his original lawyer John Abraham and represent himself. Even though he was told that he could have a lawyer assigned to him pro bono, maybe two lawyers like a senior lawyer and junior assistant, Tan still did not accept the request and thus he himself stood trial unrepresented. Tan was the second reported person to represent himself in a capital case, and about 16 years before him, Hensley Anthony Neville was the first person doing so when he was tried for the rape and murder of Lim Hwee Huang, a 19-year-old interior designer. 33-year-old Neville was subsequently sentenced to death in November 1990 and hanged after failing in his own defence at trial.
