Man gets 12 years for killing gay lover
Photo: Shin Min Daily News
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2016
Cracks appeared in their relationship after hairstylist Tan Chee Yeow wanted to be publicly recognised as Mr Tan Chin Siong's boyfriend in 2012.
But the 48-year-old Mr Tan, an assistant vice-president at United Overseas Bank, wanted to keep their relationship low-profile.
He had not told his parents about being involved with another man.
Matters came to a head in August last year when Tan called Mr Tan's mother to tell her about their relationship. Devastated, she told him she would never approve of a homosexual relationship.
Realising that he had made a mistake, Tan panicked and tried desperately, without success, to reach Mr Tan.
When he finally got through to Mr Tan the next day, Mr Tan told him that he was not gay, and that he wanted to get married and have children.
Heartbroken, Tan confronted his lover five days later at a busy walkway near Ang Mo Kio MRT Station.
After realising that the chances of them reconciling were slim, Tan took out a knife and stabbed Mr Tan twice in the chest and once in the back.
After the attack, Tan was heard crying: "I'm sorry, he's my lover... I killed him."
Mr Tan, a permanent resident, died at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) later that morning.
The slim, boyish Tan, now 40, was jailed for 12 years yesterday after pleading guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
(Above,left) Tan Chee Yeow stabbed Mr Tan Chin Siong at a walkway near Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Photos: Shin Min Wanbao
The court was told that the two Malaysians became romantically involved after meeting in Johor Baru in 2007.
Mr Tan later asked Tan, who was originally from Sarawak, to move to Singapore so they could be close together.
But their relationship hit a road block around 2012 when Tan wanted to be publicly recognised as Mr Tan's partner.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir told the court that Tan habitually drank alcohol and had threatened to kill himself on several occasions.
The situation took a turn for the worse on Mr Tan's birthday on Aug 28 last year when they quarrelled after returning to Tan's Yishun flat after dinner.
DPP Faizal said: "The accused started complaining that the deceased had failed to keep his promise to introduce him as his partner to the deceased's family and to help the accused sell his piece of land in Kuching (in Sarawak)."
Mr Tan returned to his JB home by himself the next day. By then, Tan had told Mr Tan's mother about their relationship.
On Aug 31, the day after telling Tan that he was not gay, Mr Tan took the latter to seek medical treatment at Dr Simon Siew Psychological Medicine Clinic. Tan was diagnosed with depression with generalised anxiety disorder and alcohol dependence, which was further aggravated by the couple's domestic issues.
DELAY
Dr Siew asked Mr Tan to delay the break-up by two weeks while Tan started on his medication. But over the next two days, Mr Tan called the doctor three times to tell him that he wanted to split up immediately. He started to ignore his boyfriend's calls and messages from Sept 2.
The next day, Tan went to a supermarket at Northpoint Shopping Centre in Yishun to buy a cook's knife with a 20cm blade. He originally wanted to use it to commit suicide.
On Sept 4, he headed to Mr Tan's home in Ang Mo Kio. Tan took the knife with him because he planned to kill Mr Tan before committing suicide if the latter refused to patch up.
Tan was walking to Mr Tan's flat when he saw him at a walkway near Ang Mo Kio MRT station.
Tan called out to him. When he noticed that Mr Tan looked scared, he told him that he just wanted to pass him some newspapers.
DPP Faizal said Mr Tan took the newspapers and walked away without replying.
"The accused pleaded with the deceased not to behave that way and told him that even if he wanted to break up, he should do it slowly and not so suddenly as he could not take it. The deceased kept quiet and continued walking."
Mr Tan also rejected Tan's repeated pleas to spend time with him, saying that he needed to keep his family company.
Realising there was little chance of reconciliation, Tan attacked Mr Tan with the knife. An unidentified man stepped in and struggled with Tan before kicking the knife into a drain about 10m away.
The police received four calls about the incident, and officers rushed to the scene. Mr Tan was pronounced dead at 9.14am, about 35 minutes after his arrival at TTSH.
For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Tan could have been jailed for life and caned.
'This is an unfortunate case of love gone wrong'
In a letter read out in court yesterday, Tan Chee Yeow, now 40, described his victim as the person he trusted most and was deeply in love with.
He fatally stabbed Mr Tan Chin Siong, 48, near Ang Mo Kio MRT Station around 8am on Sept 4 last year after their relationship fell apart.
Tan also wrote in his letter: "This is my greatest regret in life. It will hurt me for the rest of my life."
His lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, told the court in mitigation that this was an "unfortunate case of a love gone wrong".
'NOT A DANGER'
Urging Judicial Commissioner Audrey Lim to sentence his client to between nine and 12 years' jail, he said: "He is not a danger to society and should not be incarcerated longer than necessary."
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir asked that Tan be jailed for 12 to 14 years.
He said: "The accused displayed a significant level of premeditation as he had taken the knife along when he went looking for the deceased with the intention to kill if the latter refused to reconcile with him."
Tan's parents and four siblings were in court yesterday when the judge handed down the sentence.
They cried as they met him near the dock. His mother tearfully told him, "I love you", in Mandarin moments before he was taken away.
She told reporters outside the court: "My son is not a bad person and I wish to apologise to the victim's family."
