In February this year, the father of the twin boys found dead at Greenridge Crescent had his charge reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
On Tuesday (15 Aug), 50-year-old Xavier Yap pleaded guilty to the charge, for strangling his sons — who had autism — near the playground in Upper Bukit Timah.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
Explaining his actions, Yap claimed he was trying to reduce his wife’s burdens, as he believed that she had given up on their sons.
According to The Straits Times (ST), Yap started thinking of killing his twin sons at the start of 2022, after seeing his wife “frustrated and depressed” over their conditions.
The twins were diagnosed with global development delay and autism spectrum disorder in 2017 when they were seven.
Two years later, the couple enrolled them in a mainstream primary school even though they were unable to speak.
While Yap had a “good relationship” with the boys, he became concerned about them in 2019 or 2020, particularly over the fact that his wife was having difficulties accepting their conditions.
The concerns grew in 2021 when he noticed her getting angry with the twins.
He soon started harbouring suicidal thoughts and even bought an ice pick “on a whim” in Dec 2021.
At the start of 2022, Yap noticed his wife getting “frustrated and depressed” about the boys’ condition
He then began having “serious thoughts” about killing his sons and taking his own life.
Believing that his wife had already given up on the twins, the father felt this would take away her burdens.
On 21 Jan 2022, Yap decided to execute his plan of killing his sons and committing suicide.
He reportedly drove the boys to Greenridge Crescent Playground that evening and brought along the ice pick he had bought.
After allowing them to play for about 10 minutes, Yap brought them to an adjacent field and carried them one by one into a canal.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), he started by pressing a stick against one son’s neck before strangling him and submerging his face in the water.
He repeated this to his other son, who watched quietly as his brother was strangled.
As the prosecution read out the facts, Yap reportedly stared into space while occasionally looking up with his eyes closed, reported ST.
Yap subsequently resorted to ending his own life by using the ice pick to stab his chest, stomach and back. He also used a tree branch and a rock to hit his head but failed in all his attempts.
He then came up with the idea of calling the police and pretending that he was the victim of an attack.
The father believed that the evidence would show that he had killed the victim and that he would receive the death penalty for further lying to the police.
When the police arrived, they found injuries on Yap’s head and body.
The 50-year-old later admitted to killing his sons.
A subsequent report by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) found that Yap was suffering from major depressive disorder of “moderate” severity at the time of the offences.
In light of the report, the prosecution reduced the charges against him, from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The charge carries the punishment of life imprisonment and caning or a combination of up to 20 years’ jail and a fine or caning.
However, the court eventually sentenced Yap to 14 years’ jail on Tuesday (15 Aug), reported CNA.
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and by MS News.
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