That powerful feeling.

For the past few days, the cold-blooded murder of a business man in serene Serangoon was a hot topic. How could anyone be so cold-blooded? It seems so surreal. Despite having one of the toughest gun laws in the world, where the gallows awaits anyone who unlawfully fires a weapon,whatever the intentions were, shootings still happen in Singapore.

It wasn't the first shooting, it won't be the last either. As a kid, many boys dreamt of being soldiers, pilots and a bevy of other "glamorous" profession where testerone levels run high. We all wanted to be Rambo. There's something about holding a firearm that gives us a sense of power. I still remember the time when I had my first toy M-16, I'd pretend for hours on end that I would be Rambo, "hunting" my younger brother down who had a toy AK-47, pretending to be the "Communist enemy".

My first encounter with a real gun and live ammunitions was in Secondary 3. I was in the National Police Cadet Corp and we were introduced to the Smith & Wesson .32 revolver. I fired my first 6 shots at the old Police Academy and, man, it was exhilirating to say the least. The adrenalin rush when hearing that first pop upon pulling the trigger, was incredible.

My next encounter was with a real M-16 when I did my Basic Military Training at Pulau Tekong while serving my National Service. Being in a regimented way of life, where everything you did was under instruction was not fun in any way. The only thing most of us looked forward to was the live shoots we had as part of our training. The first time I fired my rifle, I was shocked at it's power. The recoil did surprise me. Though I did go on to become a marksman with the rifle, I think that, with the exception of a full-scale war, I would have hesitations when faced with a situation where I could kill someone.

Despite all the machoism associated with firing a weapon, there lies a huge difference between shooting a piece of cardboard at 100 meters and shooting a breathing, living person, at point-blank range no less. It takes less conviction to shoot that target board and little conscience. To look someone in the eye and to pull that trigger takes a lot of guts. It takes a really cold heart to be able to kill someone and forget it ever happened. Most of us will be scared to drive again if we ever accidentally caused the death of someone on the road, much less committing something as cold-blooded as murder.

Whatever the motive for the killing was, it still is a terrible thing to have happened. The trauma his wife and young daughter has gone through will probably haunt them for the rest of their lives. I truly feel for them. To hear the gunshots which snuffed out the life of their loved one is one of the most gut-wrenching sounds anyone could hear.

For the sake of the victim's family, I do hope the killers are found, tried and sentenced in accordance with the law.