Man Disputes Facts Over Killing His Partner With Chopper, Prefers Death Over Longer Jail Term
After Pek Kiah Huat’s lawyers managed to get his murder charge reduced to culpable homicide for chopping his longtime partner to death, the 85-year-old offender tried to argue for a five-year jail sentence.
This is because the culpable homicide charge warrants a minimum seven-year jail term. Alternatively, the octagenarian expressed that he’d rather be sentenced to death.
Pek also tried to dispute multiple facts, including the number of times he hacked his partner, Lim Soi Moy, on 1 Sep 2019.
The pair have four children together but were never married.
Man charged for chopping partner to death after he got angry at her
On 1 Sep 2019, Pek had gotten angry at Lim, who was staying with him in a four-room flat in Toa Payoh, TODAY reported.
They slept in different bedrooms and left the last room for their children if they returned from work abroad.
That night, Pek wanted to sleep in that reserved room as he thought his bedroom was dusty.
But Lim said no and told him to go to bed.
Pek, known as being “bad-tempered and abusive”, got angrier as the night wore on and took a chopper from the kitchen, attacking Lim in her bedroom.
He then called one of his children and said he had killed Lim. He also asked for the police to come over.
According to the prosecutor, Pek had told police officers about his suspicions that some of their children were not his.
Lawyer discharged man after reducing charge
Pek’s defence lawyers applied to discharge him as their client after Pek asked to be sentenced to death. His lawyers, led by Jonathan Wong from Tembusu Law, had managed to reduce his charge to culpable homicide.
But the jail sentence would last at least seven years, and Pek refused to be sentenced to more than five years in jail.
“I can do three to five years, this is the maximum. I cannot accept seven years because I don’t feel that it warrants such a lengthy sentence,” he said through an interpreter.
He instead wanted to be sentenced to death. The judge noted that he was actually saying he’d rather be sentenced to death than stay in jail for more than five years.
Pek disputed facts
Pek also disagreed with findings that he had hacked Lim with the chopper 54 times, thinking it wasn’t possible to hack someone that many times.
However, an expert from the Health Sciences Authority had counted the number of wounds on Lim’s body.
The judge then asked if he disputed the facts of the incident, there would be a trial, and he may be sentenced to death for murder.
Pek agreed.
But he continued to dispute other facts in a rowdy manner, leading the judge to ask him to “behave in court”.
You are not in a coffee shop — you are not in any other place but a courtroom. You will behave with proper decorum… Listen to the interpreter and tell her what you disagree with. Do you understand? You are in a courtroom and you will respect the court.
The judge arranged a pre-trial conference in three weeks, after which the prosecution will decide whether to proceed with a murder charge. Pek is being remanded.
Culpable homicide is punishable by up to a life sentence, or up to 20 years with a fine or caning.
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