Mentally ill man jailed 5 years for stabbing wife after suspecting she was having an affair with social worker
TODAY file photoSINGAPORE — While suffering from psychosis and delusional disorder, Fong Tuck Whye believed that his polio-stricken wife was having an extramarital affair with her social worker.
One morning when she was asleep, Fong stabbed and slashed her multiple times — including at her private parts — with knives and also tried to spray insecticide in her eyes.
The attack left her with serious injuries such as her ear being partially amputated.
Fong, now aged 67, was sentenced in the High Court on Friday (May 6) to five years’ jail after pleading guilty to attempted culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
His divorce from the victim, now aged 63, was finalised last year. They had been married for about three decades when he attacked her in August 2019.
The court heard that she suffered from polio — a viral disease of the brain and spinal cord that can cause irreversible paralysis — since she was young.
Her condition worsened in adulthood and since 2006, she has been mostly confined to a wheelchair and unable to work.
Fong worked as a driver but stopped in 2015.
Around that time, he became protective of his wife and did not allow her to leave their flat alone or carry a mobile phone.
In January 2016, she approached social service agencies for help as she felt her husband had a mental illness.
Staff from the Community Rehabilitation and Support Service programme, offered by the Singapore Anglican Community Services branch centre in Yishun, then visited the couple and delivered food to their flat.
Shortly after, Fong went to the Yishun branch centre and accused the social worker, who had helped them, of being an “imposter”. He then refused further help from the centre.
Around then, Fong also began telling his wife’s siblings that she was having an affair with the social worker. They did not believe him.
WANTED HER BROTHER TO STAY AWAY
When 2019 rolled around, Fong suffered a fall and was hospitalised.His wife’s older brother then invited her to stay with him so he could care for her. This arrangement continued after Fong was discharged from the hospital, and Fong also occasionally stayed with them.
On Aug 10, 2019, Fong decided to attack his wife to prevent the other man from taking her away from him.
He used newspapers to cover closed-circuit television cameras in the living room, before retrieving knives from the kitchen.
He went to his wife’s room and placed the weapons on the table beside her bed.
Fong then woke her up and began stabbing and slashing her. In a bid to defend herself, she fell to the ground and also yelled for her brother, who rushed over to stop Fong but failed to do so.
During the attack, Fong also attempted to spray insecticide into her eyes to stop her from resisting. He then stabbed her in her private parts.
When police officers arrived, they saw Fong squatting next to his wife who was lying in a pool of blood.
She was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Doctors found that she had suffered extensive wounds on her face and abdomen, with a knife still lodged in her private parts.
She received treatment and was discharged about two weeks later with further rehabilitation sessions.
During her hospital stay, her mobility, independence and function were significantly affected due to her injuries. She suffered permanent disfigurement and was given 53 days of hospitalisation leave.
When she was discharged, she still demonstrated some signs of acute stress but showed gradual improvements in managing her mood and fear, the court heard.
FONG'S MENTAL STATE
Fong was assessed at the Institute of Mental Health after the attack.Dr Stephen Phang diagnosed him with late-onset psychosis, most likely delusional disorder with features of both pathological jealousy and persecutory beliefs. This collectively resulted in an abnormal state of mind around the time of the attack.
However, the psychiatrist added that Fong knew what he was doing when he attacked the victim and that what he was doing was wrong, but attributed his violent actions to being “poisoned” and “drugged”.
In his September 2019 report, Dr Phang found him to be a “highly dangerous individual” but not of unsound mind. The psychiatrist also said it was in his best interests to be kept in conditions of security where he could be regularly monitored and robustly treated.
In a further report in June 2020, Dr Phang maintained his opinion.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Timotheus Koh and R Arvindren told the court: ”He also opined that the accused’s mental state substantially impaired his mental responsibility, even if it did not affect his ability to make rational decisions as he could still differentiate between right and wrong, and was entirely cognisant of the nature of his actions.”
High Court judge Valerie Thean said that imprisonment would protect members of the public against him and give him a structured environment with access to psychiatric services.
Those convicted of culpable homicide can be jailed for up to 15 years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three.
