18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat

Straits Times

14-07-2025

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
SINGAPORE - A 31-year-old woman who was suffering from persecutory delusions became frightened that her adoptive father would kick her out of the family's Sengkang flat after her adoptive mother died from cancer.
After he rejected her demand to be added as an owner of the flat, she killed him at home with a chopper.
On July 14, Tan Qiu Yan was sentenced to 18 years' jail after she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the killing in November 2022.
She was originally charged with murder, but was found to be suffering from a delusional disorder that diminished her mental responsibility for her actions.
Tan was adopted by Mr Tan Ah Bang and Madam Koh Li Hua in 1992 when she was a baby.
After Madam Koh was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, she promised her daughter her share of the flat.
However, the flat was owned by Tan's parents as joint tenants, which meant that when Madam Koh died, her share automatically passed to Mr Tan.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world
Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10
Singapore Same person, but different S'porean Chinese names? How have such naming practices evolved?
Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate
Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds
Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run accident in Hougang
Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration
Business From wellness zone to neurodivergent room: How companies are creating inviting, inclusive offices
Madam Koh died on Aug 29, 2022.
During the wake, father and daughter quarrelled several times over the flat and other assets.
Mr Tan , 67, told his daughter in a fit of anger to move out, but later relented and promised to transfer the whole property to her.
Fearing that she would be homeless if he did not keep his promise, she bought the biggest knife she could find at a supermarket.
Between late October and early November , Tan panicked after she realised that her father had become the sole owner of the flat.
On Nov 2, 2022, she asked him to add her as an owner of the flat. A heated quarrel ensued, during which Mr Tan told her he would donate the flat instead of leaving it to her.
The next afternoon, while he was scrubbing her work uniforms, she asked if he was willing to share the flat equally with her, but he told her not to bring up the matter any more.
That was when she made up her mind to kill him.
While Mr Tan was taking a shower after dinner, she took off her spectacles, retrieved the chopper from her room, and waited for him to emerge.
When the toilet door opened, she repeatedly hacked at him, aiming for his neck, even though she could not tell if the chopper was meeting its mark as he was grasping her hair and pulling her hair down.
When Mr Tan finally released his grip on her hair, she looked up to see that he was motionless on the floor. She sat down and continued to hack at him, stopping only when she became tired.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gladys Lim told the court that Tan estimated that her attack had lasted about 10 minutes.
After the attack, Tan washed the toilet, cleaned herself up and threw her bloodstained clothes down the rubbish chute.
She then passed time by watching anime, listening to music, and looking through old family photos before she called the police at 5.30am.
A report from the Institute of Mental Health stated that Tan's delusions distorted her sense of reality and 'adversely affected her judgment and impulse control in the context of the perceived risk to her personal safety and survival'.
In sentencing, High Court judge Mavis Chionh said the photos of the victim that were tendered in court attested vividly to the ferocity of Tan's attack.
'This was a shocking and brutal act of violence by the accused against her adoptive father,' said Justice Chionh, adding that Tan had inflicted horrific and ultimately fatal injuries on a man who had cared for her for many years.
However, the judge rejected the prosecution's submission for Tan to be given life imprisonment.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim had argued that Tan was a person of 'unstable character' who is likely to reoffend, and that the consequences would be dire if she did not adhere to treatment.
'An unmedicated accused would pose a catastrophic risk to the community at large,' the prosecutor said.
Justice Chionh said life imprisonment was not justified as there was no evidence that Tan had shown a history of unstable and violent behaviour.
The judge said Tan's grief from the death of her mother was a major factor in her mental state at the time of the killing.
Justice Chionh added that while Tan initially refused treatment while she was remanded in prison , she has since started taking medication in July 2024.
Tan's lawyer, Mr Daniel Koh, assigned under the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences, had sought a prison term of five to seven years.
He relied on IMH reports which showed Tan's progress after she agreed to receive treatment.
Justice Chionh said this was not appropriate as the killing was premeditated and brutal.