SINGAPORE: A married father of three who tried to murder his former lover’s new boyfriend was sentenced to 13 years and eight months’ jail by the High Court on Thursday (Mar 27), more than what both the prosecution and defence had sought.
Armed with a knife, Ong Eng Siew, 64, had slashed and stabbed Mr Ku Teck Eng, then 52, the new boyfriend of his former lover, at the void deck of a Choa Chu Kang housing block on the night of Jun 21, 2021.
The assault was a culmination of his increasingly aggressive behaviour towards his former lover, a woman then aged 42, whom he had abused and harassed in the lead-up to the incident.
Delivering her remarks on the case, Justice Mavis Chionh said that the harm caused by Ong’s attempt at murder was “severe and significant”, with the injuries “extremely serious”, even if Mr Ku did not appear to suffer from long-term injuries.
In her decision, the judge also addressed a major contention between the defence and the prosecution – whether Ong’s adjustment disorder contributed to his actions and to what extent.
In an earlier hearing, Ong pleaded guilty to one charge each of attempted murder and voluntarily causing hurt, with three charges – two for hurting his former lover, and one for obstructing justice by throwing away the knife – considered for sentencing.
While he admitted to the offences, Ong, represented by lawyers Eugene Thuraisingam and Ng Yuan Siang contended that his adjustment disorder was a major contributing factor.
The case then entered an ancillary hearing where both sides produced psychiatrists who testified as to the impact of Ong’s mental condition.
The defence’s psychiatrist cited stressors in Ong’s life at the time, including the death of his brother in April 2021, the end of his relationship with his lover, and financial difficulties from his employer not paying his salary.
The prosecution disagreed, taking the position that Ong’s actions were driven by jealousy, anger and a lack of inhibition caused by alcohol consumption.
In her judgment, Justice Chionh said she preferred the defence psychiatrist’s evidence, finding his analysis to be “more persuasive and cogent”. She accepted that there was a major contributory link between Ong’s mental disorder and the offences.
Even so, she gave limited mitigating weight to Ong’s mental condition as he still retained an understanding of his actions and was able to weigh its consequences. She found that Ong’s adjustment disorder was temporary and situational, and was a maladaptive response to genuine stressors in his life.
His condition could not be a “licence” to harm others, the judge said.
She also considered the aggravating factors in Ong’s case, including how his assault had been “vicious and unrelenting” even after Mr Ku had fallen down, and his intoxication.
In mitigation, Justice Chionh factored in Ong’s show of remorse, through his voluntary compensation of S$2,000 (US$1,500) to Mr Ku, and the absence of violent behaviour in his past history.
At the close of her judgment, Justice Chionh said that the prosecution and the defence’s proposed sentences would be “wholly inadequate” in reflecting the “overall criminality” of the accused’s conduct.
The prosecution had called for a jail term of between 10 years, eight weeks and 12 years, 10 weeks.
The defence urged the court to jail their client for between seven and eight years.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ong was in a relationship with his lover from November 2019, even though he had been married with children.
The woman only found out about his marriage in September 2020 and confronted him over it. But Ong lied that he was separated from his wife and would be ending his marriage.
In January 2021, he began drinking heavily and gambling his salary away.
The lovers began quarrelling frequently over his behaviour. She ended the relationship on Apr 25, 2021.
Subsequently, the woman began dating Mr Ku, but Ong continued to harass her through text messages and calls.
He threatened her with bodily harm, including pushing her off a building and stabbing her.
On one occasion, on Jun 1, 2021, Ong slammed her head against a van after finding out that she was in a new relationship.
The woman managed to flee and made a police report, but the harassment did not stop.
On Jun 12, 2021, Ong drank beer for hours before heading to the void deck of his former lover’s home at about 8.30pm, armed with a knife and more beer.
When the woman and Mr Ku arrived at the void deck at about 9.25pm, Ong confronted the latter.
He then took the knife from a plastic bag and approached Mr Ku with the weapon held behind his back.
Shouting “I will make sure you die”, Ong attacked Mr Ku. He punched Mr Ku who backed away and tripped over a kerb and fell backwards. While Mr Ku was on his back, Ong stabbed the left side of his chest and slashed the left side of his stomach.
When the woman tried to intervene, Ong pushed her over and punched her shoulder.
Mr Ku fled to a nearby provision shop for help, while Ong fled after residents in a neighbouring block shouted at him. He threw the knife in a drain and then sent voice recordings to his former lover, asking her and Mr Ku not to call the police.
Mr Ku, who was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, underwent surgery on the same day to repair the damage to the left ventricle of his heart and his small bowel region. He had a second surgery days later.
The Health Sciences Authority stated that the stab wound on the left side of Mr Ku’s chest, which resulted in a laceration on his left ventricle, would have been fatal but for emergency medical intervention because of blood building up in the sac around the heart.
The stab wound to Mr Ku’s abdomen caused part of the bowel to protrude from his abdomen. The tears to his bowel could have been infected, resulting in Mr Ku’s death if not for surgical intervention.
