Man gets life in prison for killing drunk neighbour in Punggol

In 2008, Heng Boon Chai was given eight years’ jail for stabbing his 55-year-old uncle to death while suffering paranoid delusions.

After his release from prison, Heng, 46, lived a quiet life with his mother in a Punggol flat.

But in 2021, a dispute with his neighbour over a noisy gate and door led to one final confrontation, where Heng fatally stabbed the man with the victim’s knife.

In 2008, Heng, who suffers from schizophrenia, had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide after it was found that his condition had diminished his responsibility for killing his uncle.

On Nov 7, he was given life imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane for the murder of his next-door neighbour, Mr Kim Wee Ming, 46, a hawker stall assistant.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Christina Koh told the court that in 2018, following a stay at a care centre, Heng moved in with his mother at her one-room rental flat in Sumang Walk, near Punggol Central.

Heng and his mother, Madam Ho Yoke Kiew, 72, initially had a cordial relationship with Mr Kim who moved there in 2019.

They exchanged pleasantries along the corridor, and Mr Kim offered them pineapple tarts during Chinese New Year.

But Mr Kim was irritated by the noise Madam Ho made when she closed the gate and the door of her flat.

When Covid-19 restrictions were imposed in early 2020, Madam Ho would leave her home multiple times at night, between 7pm and 4am, to throw rubbish at the common rubbish chute.

The neighbours quarrelled over this several times.

During one confrontation, Heng explained that their door was damaged. He also revealed that he had killed someone before.

On the afternoon of July 14, 2021, Mr Kim was drunk, and hurled vulgarities at Heng, who was alone at home, through the metal gate of his flat.

Mr Kim challenged Heng to a fight. He also taunted Heng in Hokkien by calling him an “ah gua” (sissy) and “bo chi” (no guts).

Heng tried to pacify Mr Kim but got punched in the face.

After Heng told Mr Kim to go home, the latter went to his flat to get a knife. Mr Kim then pointed the weapon at Heng and used it to hit the gate.

Heng reminded Mr Kim that he had a mental illness and had been jailed for killing someone.

When Heng told Mr Kim to pass him the knife, the latter flung it into the flat and continued his taunts.

Mr Kim went to his flat, returned with a metal wok and banged it on Heng’s gate.

Heng picked up the knife and stabbed Mr Kim in the neck through the gate.

As he pressed down on his bleeding neck, Mr Kim called the police to report the stabbing, and made a video call to his employer.

Heng called his father to tell him he had killed someone and asked his father to take care of his mother.

Mr Kim then smoked a cigarette, and told Heng, “If I die, you die”.

The DPP said that Heng, who did not expect Mr Kim to return after the first stab, opened his gate and walked towards his neighbour.

Heng stabbed Mr Kim multiple times in the neck until he collapsed.

Heng returned home, placed the knife on the table, and told his sister and mother over the phone that he had killed Mr Kim.

Mr Kim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

A psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health who examined Heng found that while he suffers from schizophrenia, there was no clear evidence that he was in a psychotic relapse during the offence.

The psychiatrist said Heng’s actions appeared to be driven by repeated provocations by Mr Kim and the perceived threat posed to his mother.

Heng did not contest the murder charge, and was found guilty by High Court Judge Audrey Lim.

Describing the killing as a particularly tragic case of a neighbourly dispute, the judge agreed with the prosecution that the death penalty was not warranted in this case.

Justice Lim accepted that Heng’s acts did not show viciousness or blatant disregard for human life.

She noted that while Heng’s acts cannot be condoned, he had admitted to what he had done at a very early stage.

She also told the prosecution to inform the prison authorities to continue monitoring Heng for his medical condition and to treat him if necessary.

Heng’s lawyers, Mr Ng Yuan Siang and Mr Nichol Yeo, said the second attack was precipitated by his worry that the wounded Mr Kim would retaliate against his mother when she returned home.

The defence noted in mitigation that the situation would not have escalated if Mr Kim had not thrown the knife into Heng’s flat.

Madam Ho kept only a plastic knife at home because she was worried about her son having access to sharp objects, said the defence.

Heng’s parents, who are divorced, spoke to him in court after he was sentenced.

He teared up briefly when Madam Ho tripped and fell in the courtroom, but calmed down after his lawyers helped her onto a chair.