Man pleads guilty to stabbing wife to death with knife and chopper
A man who killed his wife by stabbing her numerous times for no apparent reason pleaded guilty on Friday (8 September) to committing the offence.
Kong Peng Yee, 69, admitted to a single charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder before Justice Choo Han Teck in the High Court. Kong, who was originally charged with murder, stabbed Wong Chik Yeok, 62, to death in their flat at Compassvale Crescent on 13 March 2016.
Kong, who pleaded guilty through a Cantonese translator, had his charge reduced after a psychiatric report found that his mental state was impaired by psychotic delusions. The defence is asking for a sentence of five years’ jail to be imposed on Kong while the prosecution is urging the court to give him a nine-year jail term.
An autopsy revealed 189 injuries, including knife wounds and bruises, mostly concentrated around Wong’s head and neck.
The retiree, who was represented by lawyer Sunil Sudheesan, and his wife stayed with a daughter in the flat. They have an elder daughter who was living elsewhere.
Strange behaviour after operation
Kong’s behaviour started to change after undergoing a cataract surgery in January last year. After the surgery, he started to suffer from constipation, insomnia and weakened knees.
When his wife and younger daughter started to give him prune juice to counter his constipation, he refused, believing that they were trying to torture him. Kong also refused to take laxatives as he believed they were poisonous.
The court heard that on 12 March last year, after a medical check-up, Kong felt that someone was trying to harm him. He thought that he was going to die soon from some illness, although the medical report was not adverse.
Later that evening, his elder daughter suggested to her parents that they should stay at her home because she thought a change of environment might be beneficial for Kong. The elderly couple agreed to her suggestion.
The next day, Kong started acting strange while he was in a church. He made “incomprehensible” noises while he, his wife and elder daughter were in a lift.
During a sermon, Kong also told a stranger sitting next to him that people were poisoning him. Kong and his family members then left for the Compassvale flat after the church service. The elder daughter later left to fetch her sibling and left her parents alone at home.
After waking up from a nap, Kong claimed that “roaring” sounds had woken him up. It was then that he began his stabbing spree.
Kong took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed his wife on her back. He then stabbed her from the front repeatedly. His wife put up a struggle and Kong dropped the knife.
But Kong continued attacking his wife by using a chopper that he took from the kitchen. He only stopped hacking at her when he realised she had died.
“I killed Mummy”
After killing his wife, Kong telephoned his younger daughter but she did not answer the phone.
Kong then called his younger sister and told her he had killed his wife. He instructed her to call the police and distribute his money to his two daughters. He also wrote on a piece of paper how his assets should be distributed.
His younger daughter then called him back and the first thing he said was “I killed Mummy”. When she told him not to talk nonsense, he replied, “Already killed”.
The sisters then drove back to the flat and contacted the police. When they reached the flat with police officers, Kong was sitting on the sofa in blood-stained clothes, while Wong was lying motionless on the bloodied floor.
The case has been adjourned for sentencing after Justice Choo said he wanted to seek clarification from the psychiatrist who had examined Kong for the psychiatric report.
Additional reporting by Hannah Teoh
