15 years' jail for elderly man who hacked partner to death in Toa Payoh flat

SINGAPORE — More than 20 years after she left her abusive partner, Madam Lim Soi Moy let him move in with her in 2004, as he did not want to live alone.

In 2019, Pak Kian Huat, then 82, and the father of her four children, became aggrieved when Madam Lim, 79, refused to let him move to a bigger room in her four-room Toa Payoh flat.

In the early hours of Sept 1, 2019, Pak took a chopper from the kitchen and hacked her to death.

When the police arrived, he told the officers he was glad he was able to kill her.

He had inflicted 54 wounds on her body, 31 of which were on her head and neck.

On Monday (May 22), Pak, now 86, was sentenced to 15 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide in the High Court.

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Justice See Kee Oon said the intensity of Pak's brutal and vicious attack on Madam Lim can be seen by the horrifying number of injuries on the victim.

"It was a senseless attack on a defenceless victim," said the judge, adding that Pak's anger had festered over a fairly trivial matter.

Justice See noted that Pak only stopped attacking the victim when she was no longer talking.

"There was no hint of remorse or compunction even as police arrived at the scene," he said.

The judge added that being of advanced age was not a mitigating factor when the offence is heinous.

Pak was originally slated to plead guilty in September 2022. During the eventful hearing then, his previous lawyer discharged himself while Pak disputed many facts and repeatedly interrupted proceedings.

Pak and Madam Lim met in the 1950s when they were in their teens. He was a shipyard worker, and she was a housekeeper.

They never married but lived together and had four children, who are now in their 50s.

The couple's relationship deteriorated over the years, partly because Pak was bad-tempered and abusive towards his partner and at times the children.

In 1980, Madam Lim moved out with her elder daughter, while her younger daughter and two sons mostly continued living with their father.

The couple reconnected in 2004. After all the children moved out of his flat, Pak asked Madam Lim to let him move in with her as he did not want to live alone.

She obliged. Pak rented out his flat and gave her about around $400 to $500 monthly.

Madam Lim's flat had two bedrooms that were larger than the third. She occupied one of the larger rooms, while the other was reserved for their elder daughter and elder son when they returned to Singapore from abroad.

Pak had the smallest room but occasionally slept in the unoccupied larger room when the children were not in town.

On Aug 26, 2019, Pak told his younger son he had a bad cough and his condition was caused by the dustiness in his room. He complained that Madam Lim refused to let him move into the unoccupied room. 

After discussions with their children, Madam Lim agreed to let Pak stay in the larger room as long as he moved back to the smallest room before Sept 1, 2019, when the elder son was expected to return.

The night before, Pak asked Madam Lim if he could continue staying in the larger room, but she rejected his request and told him to go to bed.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok told the court Pak was furious as he felt that having to move back to the smallest bedroom would worsen his condition.

Said DPP Kok: "He grew angrier as the night wore on."

At about 3.30am, Pak took a chopper from the kitchen because the other knives were small, and went to Madam Lim's room.

Telling her in Hokkien "li ai wa si, wa buay sai hor li wa", which meant if she wanted him to die, he would not allow her to live.

He pressed her down on her bed and swung the chopper at her head and neck.

Even after she fell onto the floor, he continued hacking Madam Lim while standing over her.

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Pak then called his children to tell them what he had done. His younger son called the police.

When the police arrived, Pak opened the door and told officers he suspected some of their children were not fathered by him and that Madam Lim wanted him dead.

The prosecutor sought 15 to 18 years' jail for his blatant disregard for human life, noting that Pak had ended the life of a partner with whom he had lived with for a large part of his life.

Said the prosecutor: "Despite the accused's age, his heinous crime must be met with severe punishment even if he must live out his remaining years in prison."

Defence counsel Eugene Thuraisingam said Pak felt rejected and hurt when he was not allowed to use the larger room, even though the smaller room was aggravating his cough.

Mr Thuraisingam said Pak grew emotional and angry because he did not know how to resolve this issue.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.