SINGAPORE: A 72-year-old man was jailed for a year on Thursday (Jul 17) for slashing his neighbour, who died of heart disease about two hours later.
Lim Tee Tee pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Mr Chua Kin Tong, then 69, at their block in Lavender on Dec 22, 2024.
Mr Chua suffered injuries to his head, face, neck, arms and legs after Lim slashed him with a knife that had a 37cm-long blade.
An autopsy found that these injuries were not fatal, and that Mr Chua’s cause of death was ischaemic heart disease, Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee said.
Another charge of committing a rash act that caused hurt to a second victim, a 66-year-old neighbour, was considered in Lim’s sentencing.
At about 11.20am on the day of the incident, Lim was on the way home after buying food.
As Lim exited the lift on the eighth floor of Block 805, King George’s Ave, he collided with Mr Chua, who was trying to enter at the same time.
Both men were unhappy about this but continued on their way, and Lim returned to his flat.
Mr Chua then called the second victim to accompany him and they went to Lim’s flat together.
Mr Chua confronted Lim about the earlier collision, and the argument escalated when he hit Lim with a wooden stick.
Lim ran into his kitchen and took the knife, and the two men got into a scuffle in the corridor.
Lim slashed Mr Chua several times with the knife. The other neighbour grabbed onto Lim and asked them to stop, but sustained injuries on his arm as well.
Mr Chua eventually left and went towards the lift lobby, while Lim and the other neighbour stayed on the eighth floor.
At about 11.30am, police officers on patrol on the ground floor came across Mr Chua exiting the lift with severe head injuries.
Mr Chua told the officers Lim had attacked him with a knife, and then collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1.20pm.
Meanwhile, on the eighth floor, the officers found a trail of blood droplets leading to the flat where Lim and the other neighbour were.
Both men were detained at the flat and given medical attention. They were later taken to a hospital, and Lim was arrested on the same day.
Lim also suffered cuts and abrasions as well as a hand fracture.
A psychiatric assessment found that he suffered from persistent depressive disorder, with a mild contributory link to his offences.
“However, he remained cognitively aware that it was wrong for him to bring the knife out, and had chosen the knife deliberately as a suitable weapon for self-defence,” said Mr Gwee.
Lim was also not of unsound mind at the time and was fit to plead in court.
Calling for 14 to 17 months’ jail for Lim, the prosecutor said that if Mr Chua had not died, he would likely have needed surgery for his injuries, which cut into his cartilage.
Mr Gwee also said that while Lim did not initiate the fight, he reacted disproportionately.
The punishment for voluntarily causing hurt is up to seven years in jail with a fine, caning or both.
