Man, 62, sentenced to 4 years' jail for pouring acid on lover's face and slashing her with parang
He had suspected her of cheating on him and being the cause of his financial problems; tried to die with her by taking sleeping pills
Staff Writer
·Editorial team
Tue, 20 February 2024 at 6:05 pm SGT
A 62-year-old man sentenced to 4 years in prison for acid attack and parang assault on girlfriend amid suspicions of infidelity. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
SINGAPORE — A 62-year-old man was sentenced to four years' jail after he poured acid on his girlfriend and slashed her multiple times with a parang.
Lim Song Chua had suspected that his girlfriend was cheating on him and was the cause of his financial woes. After attacking her, he proceeded to take around 20 sleeping pills in an attempt to die with her.
He pleaded guilty on Tuesday (20 February) to one charge of attempting to commit culpable homicide.
The incident took place in December 2020, and the victim, 51-year-old Heng Hwee Chay, suffered from chemical burns on her eyes and back, as well as lacerations on both her arms.
Man suspected girlfriend of cheating on him
The couple first met between 2006 and 2007 when the construction company Heng was working at engaged the services of Kinbon Construction, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Ng Jun Chong and Huo Jiongrui.Lim was then the director and majority shareholder of Kinbon Construction, which specialised in renovation projects and the construction and maintenance of swimming pools. He and Heng became a couple in early 2014, even though Lim was married.
In 2017, Lim rented a condominium unit in Bedok for the pair to reside together. He stayed there most of the time, only leaving on Sundays to return to his wife and daughter. The pair would frequently argue, said the prosecution, as Lim felt that Heng behaved too friendly towards other men.
Lim’s company then encountered financial problems in 2019, which continued and worsened in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lim started to resent Heng as he had given her around $300,000 to repay debts incurred by her former husband, and he saw her as a financial burden.
At around 3am on 30 December 2020, he concluded that Heng was the source of all his problems and decided to kill her. He thought of throwing acid on Heng first, to prevent her from defending herself.
“He did not want her to die so easily and wanted her to suffer and be in pain,” prosecutors said.
Lim retrieved a container of acid that he had brought home from work to kill cockroaches in the kitchen's rubbish chute. He then grabbed a parang with a 23cm-long blade and headed to their bedroom, where he emptied the pail of acid onto Heng’s face.
Heng woke up immediately as she felt a stinging pain and burning sensation on her face. When asked if Lim had poured acid on her, Lim replied in Mandarin, “Good that you know.”
Woman managed to escape after man fell asleep
Heng tried to escape, but Lim attacked her, using the parang to slash her seven times and intending to let her slowly bleed to death.Heng collapsed and pleaded to be given water to wash her face. Lim gave her water to wipe her face and to drink, and then carried her to the bed, He then swallowed around 20 sleeping pills and lay next to her, planning to die with her.
After a while, Heng heard Lim snoring and tried to escape. However, she fainted outside another room in the unit. She managed to regain consciousness and continued her escape, but fainted again in the lift. A neighbour spotted her and called the police, leading to Lim’s arrest on that morning.
According to the Institute of Mental Health, Lim did have a major depressive episode around the time of the offence but he did not have a psychotic illness nor was he of unsound mind when he assaulted Heng.
The prosecution shared that some of the areas of Heng’s burn wounds were deep and required regular dressing and medication. She was on hospitalisation leave for 309 days. A medical report in April 2022 stated that Heng did not sustain any disfiguration, impairment or disability, but she said she had to rely on a friend to feed, bathe and put on clothes daily for a month.
As Heng’s injuries were not minor by nature and required surgical procedures, the prosecution sought five to 10 years’ jail.
Defence lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Joyce Khoo said that Lim’s actions were uncharacteristic of his temperament and personality, and he had committed the offence on the spur of the moment.
