Man who claimed trial to murdering father, 75, was likely of unsound mind during act

SINGAPORE — A 46-year-old man who claimed trial to murdering his 75-year-old father after strangling him and punching him on his face in 2015 was said to be of unsound mind at the time of the act.

Tan Kok Meng, then unemployed, was said to have resided with his elderly father and his mother at the Bedok North flat where the elder Tan was found lying in a supine position on 13 November 2015 by his wife, known as Toh in court documents.

Opening the case on Tuesday (11 August), the prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutors Daphne Lim and Yan Jia Kang, argued that the younger Tan had caused the death of his father by inflicting multiple blows on his face and strangling him. Tan is represented by lawyers Favian Kang and Nichol Yeo.

The prosecution also noted in court documents that state psychiatrists had ascertained that Tan had schizophrenia and was probably of an unsound mind when he allegedly committed the offence. One psychiatrist added that Tan had been in a state of acute drug intoxication due to the consumption of methamphetamine.

The prosecution applied for an order under the Criminal Procedure Code for Tan be kept in safe custody pending an order of the Minister for him to be confined in a psychiatric institution, prison or other suitable place of safe custody at the president’s pleasure.

It said it would be producing 48 witnesses, including police officers, a pathologist, relatives and neighbours and forensic psychiatrists who will testify to the younger Tan’s mental state at the material time.

Toh will testify that on the day of the incident, the accused person did not seem his usual self.

“He was looking dazed for the past two days and pacing up and down the flat. As (the wife) noted that (her son) was ‘not in a good state’, she did not want him to leave the flat. She kept the keys from him and asked (the elder Tan) to do the same,” said the prosecution.

She also told her husband not to allow their son out of the flat, before she left at about 2.30pm.

Upon returning home before 5.17pm, Toh found her husband lying on the ground with a bloodied head. She sought help from neighbours, who both saw the elder Tan lying on the floor gasping for air. Both the neighbours, Kee Pau Chua and Mohamad Zin Abdul Karim, observed the younger Tan in a daze with his limbs covered in dried blood.

Toh shouted at her son, asking why he had killed his father, but he did not respond. At this point her son allegedly placed his hands on his injured father’s chest and sat on his abdomen. Toh then pulled her son away. She called her other son, who later alerted police to the incident.

The elder Tan later died and his son was arrested by the police. The cause of death was certified to be from strangulation and aspiration of blood. He had extensive bruising and haemorrhage over his face chest and upper limbs as well as fractures to his neck. The victim also sustained a deep laceration to his tongue, which was consistent to him being punched in the face.

A paramedic, Zaneta Lee Yan Lin, who was at the scene, testified that before entering the unit she saw the younger Tan sitting on a sofa in a daze and staring into the distance.

According to a statement Lee gave to the police, she then asked the younger Tan, “‘Sir are you okay?’. I noticed that his body and clothing were covered in blood. He didn’t reply me and appeared to be in a daze.” She noted that Tan had dried blood on his upper body and arms.

Following the younger Tan’s line of sight, Lee then saw the elder Tan in a supine position on the floor, dressed in boxers and covered in blood. Dentures were seen near the victim.

Lee and her colleague then tended to the victim, who was unresponsive and making snoring-like sounds. She noted that the elder Tan’s pulse was weak and that the back of his head was soft to the touch in addition to swelling to his eyes.

As Lee inserted an oral pharyngeal airway (OPA) device to clear the blockage in the victim’s throat however, the younger Tan suddenly stood from the sofa and asked the two paramedics to go away in Mandarin, gesturing with his hands.

The younger Tan then moved towards the paramedics, prompting them to back away.

Asked why they moved away, Lee said, “Because of the glare that he gave the posture and everything he showed us. We were unsure what he wanted to do exactly, because he was so fixated on the deceased, that’s why we were unsure and moved back for our own safety.”

The younger Tan then allegedly placed his hands on his father’s throat and strangled him for about one to two minutes, said the paramedic.

The paramedics then shouted at him to stop and move away in Mandarin, but the younger Tan ignored them, while muttering “I want him to die” in Mandarin, according to court documents.

“We did not try to pull him away as we were worried about our safety did not know if he had a weapon or if he would turn around and grab us instead,” she said. She observed that the accused person was using force as his right hand muscle was tensed up.

After the act, the younger Tan allegedly returned to the sofa and the paramedics immediately tended to the victim again and administered oxygen to him. The wife remained outside the unit while her husband was being treated.

Lee confirmed that the victim was still breathing after he was strangled when asked by lawyer Kang.

She testified that the victim’s chest was still rising and falling and that he was breathing normally with the help of the OPA. He was no longer producing snoring noises at this point.

The trial continues on Tuesday and is scheduled to Friday.

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