Man jailed for stabbing wheelchair-bound wife over delusion that she was having an affair

SINGAPORE: More than 30 years into their marriage, a man suspected that his wife was having an affair with the head of a community services centre who had assisted them three years ago.

On an early morning in August 2019, Fong Tuck Whye attacked his wife with four knives to prevent her from leaving him, including stabbing her in the vaginal area. 

Fong, now 67, was jailed for five years on Friday (May 6) after pleading guilty to a charge of attempted culpable homicide.

He and the victim, now 63, divorced last year. The victim suffered from polio, and had been mostly confined to a wheelchair and unable to work since 2006.

After the attack, Fong was diagnosed with psychosis of late onset with delusional disorder that substantially impaired his mental responsibility.

In sentencing, Justice Valerie Thean noted that Fong's psychosis was causally linked to his offence.

WIFE SOUGHT HELP

The court heard that in 2014 to 2015, around the time Fong stopped working as a driver, he became "protective" of the victim and would not allow her to leave their flat alone or carry a phone.

In 2016, the victim approached social service agencies for help as she felt that her husband had a mental illness.

The male head of a community services centre visited the couple to assist them, and staff members from the centre delivered food to them in February that year.

However, Fong went to the community services centre later that month and accused the centre head of being an "imposter".

He refused further assistance and there was no more interaction between the couple and the centre head.

Fong also began telling the victim's siblings that she was having an affair with the centre head, but they did not believe him.

THE ATTACK

Three years later, in early 2019, the victim had a fall and moved into her brother's flat so he could care for her. Fong would sometimes stay overnight.

On Aug 10, 2019, Fong decided to attack the victim to prevent the head of the social services centre from taking her away from him, according to court documents.

In the early hours of the morning, he covered the closed-circuit television cameras in the living room with newspapers.

Between 6am and 7.20am, he took knives from the kitchen into the victim's bedroom, woke her up and attacked her by stabbing and slashing her multiple times.

The victim tried to defend herself and called to her brother for help, but he was unable to stop the attack and called the police.

During the attack, Fong tried to spray insecticide into the victim's eyes to stop her from resisting.

He also used a knife to stab her in the vaginal area as he wanted her to feel pain so she would not be able to have an affair with the centre head, according to court documents.

When police arrived, they saw Fong squatting next to the victim who was lying in a pool of blood with a knife still plunged into her body. He was arrested at the scene.

The victim suffered extensive incised wounds over her face, partial amputation of her right ear and wounds over her chest, abdomen and upper limbs.

Her head and face were permanently disfigured by the attack, due to multiple scars sustained from the injuries. She also suffered significant blood loss.

She was given 53 days of hospitalisation leave and assessed to be recovering well and coping well psychologically.

"HIGHLY DANGEROUS"

An Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist found that Fong suffered from pathological jealousy and persecutory beliefs, which resulted in an abnormal state of mind during the attack.

This abnormal mental state rendered Fong "significantly less able to control his spiralling emotions regarding his paranoid suspicions", according to court documents.

The psychiatrist also said that Fong remained a "highly dangerous" person, and suggested that involuntary detention in a psychiatric institution could be in his best interests.

Both the prosecution and defence agreed that a sentence of five years' jail was reasonable. Fong cannot be caned as he is over 50.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Timotheus Koh and R Arvindren said that the sentence would provide a long enough runway for an assessment of whether Fong could be safely released. 

"If the accused is still dangerous at the end of his imprisonment term, he can still be detained under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act," they said.

Defence lawyer Ng Pei Qi also submitted a letter from Fong's sister indicating that he could live with her after his release, and that he would have family support.

Justice Thean said that the five-year term, backdated to Fong's arrest in August 2019, would give medical professionals time to make considered decisions on his longer term care and future.

Those convicted of attempt to commit culpable homicide can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.

Anyone who causes hurt to another person by such an act can be jailed for up to 15 years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.