Father’s chokehold death: Son guilty only of rash act
Businessman Mark Tan Peng Liat, convicted of killing his father, arriving at the State Courts on June 8, 2017. Photo: Robin Choo/TODAY
SINGAPORE — Businessman Mark Tan Peng Liat, who caused his father’s death after putting him in a chokehold during a squabble, was yesterday found not guilty of the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Instead, District Judge Eddy Tham convicted the 31-year-old of a lesser charge of committing a rash act, noting that while Tan’s chokehold had caused his father’s death, he had “no intention” of killing the elderly man.
The judge added that Tan was merely trying to restrain his 67-year-old father from assaulting him.
This is the second time that Tan’s charge has been reduced, as he was originally charged with murder back in February 2015.
During the nine-day trial, the court heard that at 5.30pm on Feb 10, 2015, Tan and his father, Mr Tan Kok Keng, had got into a fight in their West Coast Rise semi-detached house after the latter accused his son of stealing his money. Tan’s father was furious that he had regularly withdrawn amounts of up to S$5,000 from a joint bank account they shared with Tan’s sister, according to the statements the younger man made to the police and an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist following his arrest.
On the day of the incident, the older Tan had ordered his son to come home immediately. After the younger man returned home, his angry father tried to punch him, but he managed to avoid the blow.
The fight ended up in the bathroom, with Tan trying to restrain his father by using a headlock.
As the squabble continued in the master bedroom, Tan then placed his father in a chokehold, where he wrapped his right arm around his father’s neck. At the same time, he used his left hand to press down on the base of his father’s neck.
Tan had told the court that he had been taught such restraining methods by his father, who was a taekwondo black belt holder. When he noticed that his father had stopped struggling, he released his grip and left the bedroom.
During the fight, their domestic helper went to the house of his aunt Madam Tan Hoon Choo, who lived nearby, to ask for help. Mdm Tan and her nephew later found the older man lying on the floor, and they quickly called for an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the National University Hospital.
An autopsy report showed that he had died due to “manual compression of neck”, with “hypertensive heart disease” being a contributory cause.
In his oral grounds of decision, District Judge Tham noted that he had “no doubt” that Tan’s intention was “clearly one of restraint”, pointing out that his evidence “has been consistent and unchallenged” that he was trying to restrain his father from further assaults.
Given the manner in which Tan had applied the restraining technique, the judge found that he had “instead committed an act so recklessly that it would amount to what is considered a rash act”.
Tan will appear in court again on July 11. For causing the death of a person through a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, he could be jailed for up to five years, or fined, or both.
