A man accused of murdering his pregnant wife and four-year-old daughter in 2017 has been described by psychiatrist Derrick Yeo as having the intent of making the scene appear as a suicide pact in order to deceive his family.

On Jan. 20, 2017, 44-year-old Teo Ghim Heng allegedly strangled his wife, Choong Pei Shan, and their four-year-old daughter, Zi Ning, at their flat in Woodlands.

He was arrested on Jan. 28, 2017, after attempting to commit suicide by setting fire to the bodies of his wife and daughter and lying on the bed with them.

Could not face father over incident

Speaking to the High Court on Jan. 31, the consultant from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) stated that Teo wanted his parents to only find out about the deaths after he had died, and for the deaths to convey the impression of a suicide pact.

Yeo further highlighted that Teo also could not face his father over the incident.

As such, he had told Yeo "to the effect" that he wrote a suicide note as he wanted to die on his own terms after the killings, and for people to discover the bodies together, so that the deaths would have looked like a joint decision.

Changed his story during interviews with psychiatrist

When asked by Teo's lawyer, Eugene Thuraisingam, if the accused had told Yeo that he thought of the suicide pact after the killings, Yeo affirmed that Teo had only thought of the suicide pact after killing his wife.

He also stated that Teo changed his story over the course of the six interviews which the psychiatrist held with him, having first led Yeo to believe that he had a suicide pact with his wife and that she was involved in the killing of their daughter.

Previously in July 2019, CNA reported that Teo had initially lied to the police about making a suicide pact with his wife a few weeks prior to the incident and that setting his family on fire was part of the pact.

However, he then admitted to allegedly strangling them later.

Hobbies revolved around daughter

When Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Ming Kuang asked Yeo about Teo's statement that he had no hobbies, Yeo replied that this was not true.

Here, Yeo pointed out that Teo's hobbies revolved around his daughter and that interviews with the accused's brother revealed that Teo also spoke "proudly" of his daughter at family interactions.

Additionally, Teo was also in the habit of bringing his daughter to Sentosa and refused to let Choong know about the money he owed creditors as he was scared she would scold him.

Background to the case

From 2011 to 2013, Teo earned between S$10,000 to S$15,000 as a property agent when the property market was booming.

However, his earnings dropped once the market began to weaken, resulting in Teo eventually taking up a job as a sales coordinator for a salary of S$1,500 a month in Nov. 2016.

He also racked up debts that came to between S$100,000 to S$150,000, and was owed to various parties such as his colleagues, customers and daughter’s kindergarten school.

Teo’s marriage with Choong was also put under strain after he found out that she had an affair in 2014, thereby affecting his sales performance, CNA reported.

Eventually, he had an argument with his wife on the day of the alleged murders about the family's financial situation.

The argument occurred when Teo decided not to bring Zi Ning to school as he feared she would be turned away over the unpaid school fees, thereby causing an embarrassing scene.

After the argument, Teo supposedly strangled his wife and daughter to death with a towel and his bare hands.

Teo then considered multiple means of committing suicide until Jan. 28, 2017, when he was arrested and the bodies of Choong and Zi Ning were discovered.

The case is currently adjourned until Feb. 13, 2020.

Should he be found guilty of murder, Teo will face the death penalty.

More details about the day of the murder and the aftermath:

Top photo by Matthias Ang