Beach Road slasher spared caning after being deemed medically unfit
The man who brutally attacked his wife outside a row of restaurants along Beach Road in 2022 has been excused from receiving caning after being certified permanently unfit for the punishment.
Cheng Guoyuan, 50, was sentenced in June to 19 years’ imprisonment and eight strokes of the cane for attempted murder, having launched a vicious assault on his wife, Han Hongli.
Source: Singapore Road Accident on Facebook
At a High Court hearing on Wednesday (5 Nov), Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen informed the court that Cheng had been declared medically unfit for caning on 9 Sept.
The prosecution said it would not seek an additional jail term in lieu of the corporal punishment.
Justice Audrey Lim accepted the position and formally remitted the caning sentence without extending Cheng’s imprisonment.
The court did not reveal details of his medical condition.
Under Singapore law, only men below the age of 50 who are medically fit may be caned.
When an offender is found unfit, the court has the discretion to waive the caning or substitute it with up to a year of additional jail time.
Attack left victim permanently disfigured
Cheng’s crime sparked public outrage when videos of the assault circulated online.
On 14 April 2022, he ambushed Ms Han, 44, near a row of eateries along Beach Road and repeatedly struck her with a cleaver until the blade snapped.
Source: Su Wei Zhi Jonathan on Facebook
Even after she fled, Cheng armed himself with another cleaver and continued the attack, ignoring bystanders who tried to stop him.
Source: Facebook
Ms Han sustained devastating injuries. Her left hand was nearly severed, she lost vision in her left eye, and her face was permanently disfigured.
She also suffered impaired arm function, and the tip of her right ring finger was amputated.
Cheng later admitted that he intended to kill her if she refused to conceal his past wrongdoing against her 23-year-old daughter from an earlier marriage.
Also read: Man who slashed wife with cleaver at Beach Road & left her disfigured gets 19 years’ jail
Man who slashed wife with cleaver at Beach Road & left her disfigured gets 19 years’ jail
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Featured image adapted from Su Wei Zhi Jonathan on Facebook and Shin Min Daily News via Sin Chew Daily.
