Tycoon's wife dies from pills, alcohol mix
She had been upset over husband's affair but had not appeared suicidal
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
Mr Tan Boy Tee, founder of Labroy Marine, was ranked 12th in the Forbes' list of 40 richest Singaporeans in 2009. -- BT FILE PHOTO
THE wife of one of Singapore's richest men had a habit of taking alcohol with sleeping pills to help her sleep.
The combination proved fatal.
On July 2 last year, Madam Lim Sin Juat, 56, the wife of tycoon Tan Boy Tee, was found lying motionless on the floor of her son's bedroom at Lantana Avenue, off Sixth Avenue.
Lying near the woman were a bottle of whisky, several blue and pink pills, a glass half-filled with liquor and an empty box of sleeping pills.
She was holding the key to the bedroom. A note was found beside her, but the words were smudged by her vomit.
At an inquest into her death yesterday, a coroner's court heard that her relationship with her husband had been strained since 2009, when she found out about his extramarital affair.
In his findings, State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid said the evidence showed Madam Lim was depressed over the affair. However, the court could not conclusively say if what she did was intended by her to end her own life, or if it was a case where death came by accident.
Mr Tan, 61, now retired, founded Labroy Marine more than 30 years ago. He sold the tug-and-barge operations to Dubai's Drydocks World in 2008 for more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), pocketing more than US$700 million. He was ranked 12th in the Forbes' list of 40 richest Singaporeans in 2009, and was said to be worth US$650 million then.
A police report on Madam Lim's death noted she had been unhappy with her husband's attitude towards her on July 1, after his return from a holiday.
'A check with the three domestic helpers revealed that most of the time, the deceased would be the one probing and asking questions, and (Mr Tan) would keep quiet and not answer them,' it said.
At around 1am on July 2, the maids saw Madam Lim 'shouting and scolding' Mr Tan, 'who ignored her'. He later left with his friend, Mr Tan Hong Kiat, 53.
The men went to the casino at Resorts World Sentosa and did not return home for the night, staying at the Crockfords hotel there. While they were at the casino, Madam Lim sent five text messages to Mr Tan Hong Kiat around 2am to 3am, telling him to inform her husband not to come back in case they quarrelled again.
She sent one text message to her husband. It said: 'Your Malaysian girl is the best. I'm useless.'
The report said Mr Tan 'did not pay much attention to the SMS' as Madam Lim 'would always send SMSes of such nature to him whenever she was feeling sore about the affair'.
At about 10am on July 2, the maids discovered she had locked herself inside her elder son's room. They called her husband, who returned home with his friend.
Mr Tan Hong Kiat kicked open the door and found her lying on the floor in a crouching position. She was pronounced dead at about 2.30pm.
The husband told police the sleeping tablets were his and had been prescribed by a doctor 10 years ago. He had shared them with his wife, who had insomnia.
Investigations found that although she was clearly unhappy about the affair, she had never mentioned anything or done anything showing suicidal inclinations.
She was also known to have a habit of writing notes to Mr Tan whenever she was upset with him over the affair, and this was 'their way of communication as they seldom talked to each other' after the affair, Inspector John Sia of Clementi police division said in his report.
An autopsy found ethanol in her blood and urine, and midazolam and zolpidem - both medications for insomnia - in the urine and stomach contents.
The zolpidem found was within the lethal range. The hypnotic can also be used as an anti-convulsant or muscle relaxant. It can cause sedation and, at higher levels, depression of the respiratory function, which could lead to coma and death.
The autopsy report stated that the combination of ethanol and drugs is known to be highly lethal and can cause fatal respiratory depression, even when present in low quantities.
The cause of death was due to ethanol and mixed drug poisoning.
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She had been upset over husband's affair but had not appeared suicidal
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
Mr Tan Boy Tee, founder of Labroy Marine, was ranked 12th in the Forbes' list of 40 richest Singaporeans in 2009. -- BT FILE PHOTO
THE wife of one of Singapore's richest men had a habit of taking alcohol with sleeping pills to help her sleep.
The combination proved fatal.
On July 2 last year, Madam Lim Sin Juat, 56, the wife of tycoon Tan Boy Tee, was found lying motionless on the floor of her son's bedroom at Lantana Avenue, off Sixth Avenue.
Lying near the woman were a bottle of whisky, several blue and pink pills, a glass half-filled with liquor and an empty box of sleeping pills.
She was holding the key to the bedroom. A note was found beside her, but the words were smudged by her vomit.
At an inquest into her death yesterday, a coroner's court heard that her relationship with her husband had been strained since 2009, when she found out about his extramarital affair.
In his findings, State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid said the evidence showed Madam Lim was depressed over the affair. However, the court could not conclusively say if what she did was intended by her to end her own life, or if it was a case where death came by accident.
Mr Tan, 61, now retired, founded Labroy Marine more than 30 years ago. He sold the tug-and-barge operations to Dubai's Drydocks World in 2008 for more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), pocketing more than US$700 million. He was ranked 12th in the Forbes' list of 40 richest Singaporeans in 2009, and was said to be worth US$650 million then.
A police report on Madam Lim's death noted she had been unhappy with her husband's attitude towards her on July 1, after his return from a holiday.
'A check with the three domestic helpers revealed that most of the time, the deceased would be the one probing and asking questions, and (Mr Tan) would keep quiet and not answer them,' it said.
At around 1am on July 2, the maids saw Madam Lim 'shouting and scolding' Mr Tan, 'who ignored her'. He later left with his friend, Mr Tan Hong Kiat, 53.
The men went to the casino at Resorts World Sentosa and did not return home for the night, staying at the Crockfords hotel there. While they were at the casino, Madam Lim sent five text messages to Mr Tan Hong Kiat around 2am to 3am, telling him to inform her husband not to come back in case they quarrelled again.
She sent one text message to her husband. It said: 'Your Malaysian girl is the best. I'm useless.'
The report said Mr Tan 'did not pay much attention to the SMS' as Madam Lim 'would always send SMSes of such nature to him whenever she was feeling sore about the affair'.
At about 10am on July 2, the maids discovered she had locked herself inside her elder son's room. They called her husband, who returned home with his friend.
Mr Tan Hong Kiat kicked open the door and found her lying on the floor in a crouching position. She was pronounced dead at about 2.30pm.
The husband told police the sleeping tablets were his and had been prescribed by a doctor 10 years ago. He had shared them with his wife, who had insomnia.
Investigations found that although she was clearly unhappy about the affair, she had never mentioned anything or done anything showing suicidal inclinations.
She was also known to have a habit of writing notes to Mr Tan whenever she was upset with him over the affair, and this was 'their way of communication as they seldom talked to each other' after the affair, Inspector John Sia of Clementi police division said in his report.
An autopsy found ethanol in her blood and urine, and midazolam and zolpidem - both medications for insomnia - in the urine and stomach contents.
The zolpidem found was within the lethal range. The hypnotic can also be used as an anti-convulsant or muscle relaxant. It can cause sedation and, at higher levels, depression of the respiratory function, which could lead to coma and death.
The autopsy report stated that the combination of ethanol and drugs is known to be highly lethal and can cause fatal respiratory depression, even when present in low quantities.
The cause of death was due to ethanol and mixed drug poisoning.
[email protected]
