Man jailed 7 years for fatally stabbing brother 22 times
The siblings regularly quarrelled over trivial matters and couldn't see eye to eye
Since he was 12, he and an older brother hated each other's guts.
They shared a room but often quarrelled with each other.
Things came to a terrible end on April 13 last year when Ng Yao Wei, now 23, brutally stabbed his brother, Mr Ng Yao Cheng, 26, to death.
Ng stabbed him 22 times, including seven times in the neck.
As his brother lay bleeding and dying in their Choa Chu Kang condominium bedroom, Ng called the police to report his crime.
Yesterday, the former Singapore Polytechnic student was jailed seven years for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Ng was found to have been suffering from a major depressive disorder that substantially diminished his mental responsibility.
Court papers said he and his brother regularly quarrelled over trivial matters.
A day before the incident,Ng had two friends over. The trio were playing computer games in the living room when the older brother shouted at them for making too much noise.
Ng retorted by calling his brother a dog in Mandarin.
His brother strode aggressively towards him and the two almost came to blows had it not been for their father intervening and coaxing the older brother to return to his room.
Feeling humiliated, Ng confronted his brother in their bedroom the next day at about 10.50pm.
They argued before Mr Ng lunged at his younger brother.
Ng dodged and reached for a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade that he had hidden under his pillow the previous night.
Ng repeatedly stabbed his brother's upper body and neck.
On hearing the commotion, their mother, Madam Gan Chai Min, 55, and maid rushed into the room. They saw Mr Ng lying on the bed and bleeding from the neck.
Madam Gan tried to stop the bleeding by pressing a towel to her son's neck wounds.
The maid also took the knife from Ng, who left the bedroom to call the police.
A paramedic pronounced Mr Ng dead at the scene at 11.15pm.
The autopsy report said he had suffered 43 injuries, including 22 stab wounds of which three were serious enough to cause death.
Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ma Hanfeng called for a jail term of between seven and 10 years.
Citing the need to protect the public and for rehabilitation, he said Ng would require treatment for his mental illness and continued observation for about seven years.
DPP Ma added that if Ng were released before the completion of his rehabilitation, he could relapse and spark off another tragic episode.
DISPUTE
Defence counsel Josephus Tan said in mitigation the dispute between the brothers had started since Ng was 12.
Mr Tan added that his client had been bullied by his brother over many years. Mr Ng, according to their parents, was hot-tempered.
The lawyer also said that Ng had sought help, on his own, at the Institute Of Mental Health five months before the incident and that he was found to have low risk of re-offending.
Yesterday's hearing was attended by about 30 of Ng's family members and friends, including his 87-year-old grandmother, parents and 30-year-old brother.
The grandmother was overheard telling Ng, who appeared calm throughout, to take care of himself in prison.
She and his father were seen sobbing before they left the courtroom.
The family declined to speak to the media.
For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Ng could have been jailed for life, or up to 20 years, with a fine and caning.
He had thoughts of suicide, murder
The brothers quarrelled and fought over the most trivial things, according to Ng Yao Wei's psychiatric report.
Since he was in secondary school, he had not been able to get along with his older brother, Mr Ng Yao Cheng.
Ng claimed to his psychiatrist that Mr Ng often derided him by calling him stupid on account of his education at ITE MacPherson.
Ng went on to study business and information technology at Singapore Polytechnic and graduated in the top 10 per cent of his cohort.
He also said his brother would react badly when he used his computer in their shared bedroom at night, complaining that Ng disturbed his sleep.
In retaliation, Mr Ng would deliberately draw the curtains and switch on the hairdryer in the morning to interrupt his brother's sleep.
Mr Ng also allegedly slammed the door on his brother's pet dog.
Ng, however, would bottle up the anger as his parents' advice was to ignore or tolerate his brother's behaviour.
DEPRESSED
Ng visited the Institute of Mental Health on Nov 25, 2014, and told a psychiatrist he had felt depressed for a few years.
He also said he had unhealthy thoughts such as committing suicide or murdering a classmate whom he was unhappy with.
The day before the incident, Mr Ng had shouted at Ng and his two friends, saying they were making too much noise.
Their father chided Mr Ng for his behaviour, which led to another heated argument between the brothers.
During this quarrel, Mr Ng allegedly said: "You go on like this, I will kill you."
This alleged threat prompted Ng to place a knife under his pillow. He said: "This time the death threat was more real... The way he said it seemed more real."
He claimed that if his brother, who was bigger than him, wanted to fight again, he could use the knife to scare him off.
The psychiatric report also contained accounts of Ng's friends, who described him as a quiet and gentle individual who had not shown any impulsive or violent tendencies.
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