SINGAPORE - Eu Lim Hoklai, sentenced to death for the murder of his China lover in 2009, had the murder charge reduced by the Court of Appeal today.
Eu was convicted of killing massage parlour owner Yu Hongjin by the High Court in 2009 and sentenced to death.
Justice V. K. Rajah delivered the decision of the three-judge court following the 57-year-old seafood stall owner's appeal against his conviction last September.
He said that the prosecution's case was not sufficiently clearcut, with too many loopholes in its case. Hence, it was "unsafe" to conclude that Madam Yu's death was a case of cold-blooded murder. Rather, it appeared to have been a death caused in the heat of the moment.
The Court of Appeal convicted Eu of a lesser charge of culpable homicide. This charge carries up to 10 years' jail or life imprisonment.
What happened
On Father's Day on June 18, 2006, Eu had gone to meet Madam Yu, but their relationship appeared to have gone sour by then. The meeting at Madam Yu's massage parlour turned violent and she died from strangulation and two stab wounds. Eu suffered wounds that damaged no major organs.
The prosecution's case was that Eu had strangled Madam Yu, a 29-year-old China national, after she was stabbed twice and helpless.
But, Eu said Madam Yu stabbed him first and he retaliated.
Police turned up at the Feng Ye Beauty & Health Center at Block 416 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 at 11.15am after receiving a call from Eu's daughter.
Eu had called his daughter as he lay bleeding on the floor of a cubicle in the massage parlour.
On a massage bed in the room, face up, was Madam Yu, dead with stab wounds on her. She held a 30cm knife in her hand.
Ambulance officers turned up 15 minutes and sent Eu to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was placed in intensive care.
By the day's end, however, conscious and in a stable condition, he had been placed under arrest on suspicion of murder.
Judges' verdict
In delivering the Court of Appeal's verdict, Justice Rajah said it was likely that a struggle took place in the massage parlour although it was not clear who struck the first blow. The benefit of the doubt has to be given to the accused in such "difficult" cases, he said.
Shin Min Daily News reported that Eu, also known as Ah Wang, looked teary after he heard the judges' verdict. He then thanked his lawyers and waved to his family.
Elderly mother cried for him
When Eu's mother, two elder sisters, a younger brother, his three daughters and 10 close friends knew that he had escaped the gallows, they cried in relief.
Eu's 86-year-old mother was so worried about her son's fate the night before that she cried the whole night. She told Shin Min: "My son is very filial. When he got into trouble, I could not eat or sleep and cried so much."
She was so happy after she heard the court's verdict that she said "gong xi fa cai" to the reporters, wishing them happiness and prosperity.
Wife forgives him
Eu's wife has already forgiven him, said the couple's friends.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Eu's family has been steadfast in their support for the man, appearing in court everyday during his trial. The group included the wife he had betrayed with his China lover.
The couple's friends told Shin Min that Mrs Eu had already decided not to pursue the matter of his unfaithfulness and is waiting to start life afresh with Eu after his jail sentence.
