Man jailed 27 months for stabbing ex-girlfriend in neck with letter opener

Afraid that his girlfriend of 18 years would leave him, he tried to salvage the relationship but ended up strangling her, stabbing her in the neck with a letter opener and hitting her head with a brick.

Lim Kok Beng, 53, was convicted of one count of using an instrument to voluntarily causing hurt to Liaw Bih Jiuan, 43, and was sentenced to 27 months’ jail in the State Courts on Tuesday (31 October). Another charge of hitting Liaw’s head with a brick was taken into consideration for Lim’s sentence.

Lim, who works in a restaurant, was residing in a flat in Bedok North with Liaw and his mother when the incident occurred. A month before the incident, the couple had been discussing Liaw’s impending move from the house and their gradual breakup.

Around 2am on 4 July this year, Liaw returned home and spoke to Lim on the issue of separation. Lim later went to the room where Liaw was sleeping and locked the door. He woke Liaw up telling her that he wanted to talk to her, but Liaw declined to speak to him. Lim insisted on speaking to Liaw and later placed his hands around his neck. He began to strangle Liaw despite her pleas that he was hurting her.

After a struggle, both fell to the floor and Liaw tried to kick Lim away. She shouted for help and attempted to escape but Lim grabbed her neck in an arm lock and continued choking her.

On hearing the commotion, Lim’s mother unlocked the door but Lim pushed against the door, preventing her from entering. By the time Lim’s mother forced her way in, Liaw had almost lost consciousness. Liaw took the opportunity to escape when Lim’s mother intervened.

Liaw went to the living room where she called family members to tell them what had occurred. Lim followed closely behind saying that he was afraid Liaw would leave him, while pocketing a letter opener.

Over the next few hours until 10am, Liaw stayed in the living room messaging friends to fetch her. She spoke to Lim about their separation but Lim became angry again after he realised that Liaw’s sister had asked her to leave the house.

She later spotted an object in Lim’s pocket and asked him what it was, causing Lim’s mother to feel his pocket. Lim’s mother said that the item was a knife, spurring Liaw to try to escape from the flat. Before Liaw could leave, Lim grabbed her arms, pulled out the letter opener with a 10cm blade, and stabbed her in the neck.

During the struggle, Liaw managed to grab the letter opener blade before breaking the object and throwing the blade and handle. Instead of ceasing his attack, Lim grabbed a nearby brick and hit Liaw’s head twice, causing her to fall to the ground.

When Lim’s mother tried to pull him away, Lim kicked her. Liaw managed to escape to the ninth floor where she sought help from a neighbour who called the police. Liaw’s friends arrived later and brought her to a hospital.

Liaw was found with a 0.5cm stab wound on her neck, a scalp laceration, cuts on her neck and limbs, and bruises around her body. She was hospitalised for six days where she was fed through a nasal gastric tube.

Lim’s lawyer, Aqbal Singh, said in mitigation that his client had been suffering from a major depressive order at the time of the offence. Lim had been experiencing “mounting emotional strain” caused by the medical condition of his 19-year-old son from a previous marriage. Lim’s son was suffering from a rare nervous system condition, which resulted in a loss of vision and paralysis of his limbs, said the lawyer.

Lim’s violence was “uncharacteristic” and he was remorseful for his actions, Aqbal said. Liaw has since forgiven Lim and was present in court, the lawyer added.

The prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chong Kee En, pointed out that Lim’s assault was “sustained and brutal”. The DPP sought a sentence of 30 months for Lim. District Judge Olivia Low noted Lim’s psychiatric condition but said that a jail term was warranted due to the severity of the “unprovoked” attack.

For causing hurt with an instrument, Lim could have been jailed up to seven years and/or fined and/or caned.