S’pore woman gets 18 years’ jail for killing adoptive father over Sengkang flat’s ownership

Woman watched anime & listened to music after killing father in Sengkang flat

After repeated arguments over the ownership of the Sengkang flat they were living in, a woman killed her adoptive father in November 2022.

Tan Qiu Yan, then 31, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the deed.

Woman was promised a share of Sengkang flat, but father became sole owner

Tan was adopted by Mr Tan Ah Bang and Madam Koh Li Hua in 1992, according to court documents reported on by The Straits Times (ST).

Mdm Koh was found to have lung cancer in 2019 and passed away on 29 Aug 2022.

Before her death, she had promised her adopted daughter a share of the flat in Block 190A Rivervale Drive.

However, as the married couple were joint tenants, Mr Tan became the sole owner of the flat after her death.

Woman and father quarrelled over Sengkang flat ownership several times

Mr Tan, 67, quarrelled with Tan several times during Mdm Koh’s wake over the flat and other assets.

At one point, he even told her to move out, but later promised to transfer the flat to her name when she started crying and reminded him of her mother’s promise to her.

However, in late October, Tan feared she would become homeless after she found out that her father had become the sole owner.

On 2 Nov, father and daughter quarrelled again after she asked him to add her name to the flat, during which Mr Tan threatened to donate the flat to charity.

The next day (3 Nov), Tan again brought up the issue of the flat’s ownership, but Mr Tan told her not to discuss it any more.

Woman hacked father with a chopper

That was the last straw for Tan, who decided to kill him.

She had previously purchased a chopper from the supermarket, specifically choosing one that was large and sharp.

When Mr Tan was taking a shower, she waited outside the door and hacked at him when he opened it.

During the struggle, he grabbed and pulled at her hair, but she continued hacking him until he lay on the floor, motionless.

However, she hacked at his lifeless body several times more until she became tired.

Woman took her time to call the police

Afterwards, Tan cleaned the toilet and herself, throwing her clothes into the rubbish chute.

For some reason, she did not report the death immediately, instead watching anime, listening to music and browsing family photos before calling the police at 5.30am on 4 Nov.

She was subsequently arrested and charged with murder the following day.

Woman suffered from delusional disorder: IMH

The charge was later reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder after a report from the Institute of Mental Health said Tan was suffering from a delusional disorder.

She had a distorted sense of reality that “adversely affected her judgment and impulse control in the context of the perceived risk to her personal safety and survival”, it added.

Thus, it was held that her mental responsibility for her actions was diminished.

In court on Monday (14 July), she pleaded guilty to the charge, but the prosecution called for her to receive life imprisonment, arguing that she was likely to reoffend and pose a risk to the community.

However, High Court judge Mavis Chionh rejected the call for life imprisonment as she had no history of unstable and violent behaviour.

Rather, her mental state when she killed her father was mostly due to grief at her mother’s death, the judge said. Tan also started taking medication in July 2024.

Sentencing her to an 18-year prison term, Judge Chionh said the accused had inflicted “a shocking and brutal act of violence” on a man who had brought her up, causing “horrific and ultimately fatal injuries”.

Also read: Bukit Batok Double Tragedy Ruled A Murder, Teenager Killed Grandfather Before Taking Own Life

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Featured image adapted from court documents via Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.