Man, 85, allegedly killed long-time partner over room dispute
SINGAPORE — An 85-year-old man who allegedly hacked his long-time partner to death during their dispute over room arrangements disrupted court proceedings when his case was heard on Friday (23 September).
Pak Kian Huat, also known as Pek Kiah Huat, was also unrepresented after his lawyer applied to discharge himself at the hearing, according to a report by The Straits Times (ST).
His original charge of murder was reduced to culpable homicide involving his killing of Lim Soi Moy, 79, in their flat at Block 191 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh on 1 September 2019.
Pak was due to plead guilty to the amended charge but told his lawyer that he wanted the death sentence to be imposed.
When the court asked Pak for clarification, he said the sentence of seven years' jail that his lawyer was seeking was too long and asked for a term of up to five years. The prosecution was seeking 15 to 18 years' jail.
Pak also challenged the fact that there were 54 wounds all over Lim's body. When asked by the court if Pak had counted, he admitted that he did not do so but said he could not have hacked Lim so many times.
"You are not in a coffee shop, you are in a courtroom. You will behave with the proper decorum," said Justice Aedit Abdullah, according to the ST report.
The court heard that Pak and Lim met in the 1950s but entered into a relationship only after a decade due to Lim's mother's disapproval. Though they were never married, they lived together and had four children, who are now in their 50s.
From 2004, the couple lived in a four-room flat with three bedrooms, two of which were larger in size. Of the two, one was occupied by Lim while the other was reserved for their overseas-based elder son and elder daughter whenever they returned to Singapore.
Pak usually occupied the smallest room but slept in the larger room when the two children were overseas.
On 26 August 2019, Pak complained to his younger son that Lim had refused to let him move into the larger room. It was later agreed that he could stay in the room on the condition that he moved back to his room before 1 September 2019 when his elder son was back in Singapore.
In the early hours of 1 September, he took a chopper from the kitchen and attacked Lim after she allegedly rejected his request to continue living in the larger room upon the return of their elder son.
The case was adjourned for the prosecution to consider whether to proceed with a trial based on the original murder charge or the reduced charge, and for the judge to rule on the facts being disputed, the ST report said.
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