SINGAPORE: A 69-year-old retiree was on Friday (Sep 8) convicted of culpable homicide for killing his wife with a knife and chopper in a “savage” attack last March.
Kong Peng Yee was initially charged with murder, but the charge was reduced after it emerged that he had been suffering from a brief psychotic episode at the time he killed Mdm Wong Chik Yeok, his wife of 36 years.
The High Court heard that Kong started to behave oddly after an eye operation in January 2016. He refused to take medication he believed was poisonous and was worried that someone was trying to harm him.
On Mar 12, Kong’s 63-year-old wife and two daughters accompanied him to the doctor to collect his medical test results. Although the report stated he was fine, Kong remained concerned that he was sick and was going to die.
His elder daughter, 36, suggested her parents spend the night at her place, thinking that a change of environment might do her father good. At the house, Kong told his daughter he did not think she was his, but said that he would not “abandon” her.
The daughter took her parents to church the next morning, where Kong mumbled to himself and told a stranger sitting beside him that people were poisoning him. Kong and his wife returned to their Compassvale Crescent flat after church.
“I KILLED MUMMY”
Kong, who had fallen asleep, was woken up shortly after 3pm by what he described as “roaring sounds”. He picked up a knife from the kitchen sink before walking into the living room and stabbing his wife in the back.
Kong moved to face his wife and continued to stab her. When he dropped the knife, Kong took a chopper from the kitchen before continuing to hack at Mdm Wong, determined to “make sure she die (sic)”.
He then called his younger daughter and said: “I killed mummy”. Kong’s daughters called the police and rushed to their parents’ flat where they found their father sitting on the sofa and their mother lying in a pool of blood at his feet.
A psychiatrist said Kong had a “brief psychotic episode” at the time when he killed his wife. “His psychotic state could have its origins in a severe depression (due to) the mild physical impairments after (Kong’s) eye surgery, which he then blew out of proportion,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Shi said, citing psychiatrist Dr Kenneth Koh’s report.
The report also stated that although Kong’s psychosis “significantly affected his mental responsibility for his actions”, he knew what he was doing and that it was wrong.
“In the immediate aftermath of the attack, (Kong) even had the presence of mind to leave a note on how his property and savings should be distributed” between his daughters, the prosecutor said. “He knew full well what he was doing.”
She called for at least nine years’ jail for Kong for setting upon his wife “in an act of senseless brutality”. Mdm Wong was “utterly defenceless” and no match for Kong “who was relatively unscathed by the savage attack while she suffered a colossal 189 injuries,” the prosecutor said.
Defence lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Diana Ngiam urged the court to impose around five years’ jail. “Our client loved Mdm Wong,” the lawyers said, adding that Kong had never been violent towards his wife in all their years of marriage.
“(His) behavior only turned erratic and bizarre upon the onset on his psychiatric condition,” Mr Sudheesan said. “Our client is wrought with sorrow and remorse at the fact that he killed his wife”, and remains “shaken”, he added.
Kong’s two daughters, who were in court on Friday, are supportive of their father and will ensure he gets the care he needs upon his release from prison, Mr Sudheesan said.
In a follow-up report in May 2017, Dr Koh said Kong’s psychiatric disorder is in remission.
Before Justice Choo Han Teck sentences Kong, he asked for prosecutors to arrange for Dr Koh to testify before him on a date to be fixed. "I have a few questions for him," Justice Choo said.
For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Kong could face life imprisonment or up to 20 years’ jail and a fine. As he is above 50, he cannot be caned.
Source: Channel News Assia, September 8, 2017
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