Family petitions for killer to be jailed longer, says 10-year jail term inadequate

The family is demanding the jail sentence to be increased to 20 years or more.

Belmont Lay | February 27, 2017, 04:10 PM

The family of Elsie Lie, a woman who was brutally murdered in Jurong West in March 2012, has started a petition calling for a harsher sentence to be imposed on her killer who was also her fiance.

This was following the sentencing of the killer, Gabriel Lee, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to a reduced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, on account of a diagnosis that he was suffering a "brief psychotic disorder" at the time of the killing.

Lee was sentenced to 10 years’ jail.

The online petition started on Feb. 26, 2017, by Lie Jinn Chyau, who is the deceased's brother, has received more than 500 signatures within a day.

The petition wrote:

Ever since the passing of my sister, my parents has been in extreme grief and had a hard time dealing with it for the past 5 years. Just 5 days ago we received the verdict: that her cold-blooded murderer, Gabriel Lee Haw Ling – her abuser, the one who left her no dignity even in DEATH, was guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

10 years in jail. For culpable homicide…for what should have been murder. What he deserves should be at least 20 years if not life imprisonment. Now it’s become 10 years.

Details of the gruesome murder came to light on the day of Lee's sentencing, while an earlier news report in April 2012 managed to only shed some light on the depravity of the murder.

Lee, 42, who was a security guard, had proposed to Lie only a week before killing her. They were barely months into their relationship.

Believing she was the devil, Lee tried to decapitate Lie, 24, and gouged out her eyeballs. He called her “Elsie Lucifer”.

Lie’s mangled body was found on March 31, 2012, in the rented room in Jurong West she shared with Lee.

An autopsy revealed that Lie had died from multiple neck injuries.

Lee had tried to behead her and in the process completely severed Lie’s spinal cord and removed part of her wind pipe, which was found next to her body.

Lee had also tried to cut off Lie’s right foot but did not succeed.

The petition also highlighted that as the case occurred in 2012 and since Lee has been in prison for five years, he could be released in less than three years time, which assumes he could be released early.

The petition also wrote:

Defence lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Diana Ngiam, however, urged the court to impose a jail term of nine to 10 years. “Our client comes from a strong Catholic background and has believed in ghosts, evil spirits and Lucifer since he was a child,”

How would a person with such extreme beliefs be safe with the public.? How many more lives would be lost to the hands of these cold-blooded murderers before the Judicial System could do something about this?

It is time to stop the exploitation of mental disorders so as to achieve lenient sentences. My sister died a horrific death and her murderer will be out of jail in less than 3 years.

[...]

We, the undersigned, call on the Judicial System of Singapore to deliver fairness and justice to late Ms Elsie Lie Lek Chee and her family.

The petition is addressed to "AGC", which can be understood to refer to the "Attorney-General's Chambers".

 

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