A 69-year-old man was found guilty in the High Court on Tuesday, Sep. 14, of murdering his ex-wife at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio in 2018, reported CNA.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Seet Cher Hng was convicted of murder, by intentionally causing fatal injury to his ex-wife, Low Hwee Geok, who was 56 at that time.

Unhappy with division of matrimonial assets

According to court documents, Seet, a retiree from the Institute of Technical Education Headquarters, and Low, who worked as a Divisional Director at ITE College Central, were married in 1993.

They subsequently divorced in 2011.

Seet was reportedly unhappy with his share of proceeds of the matrimonial assets, following the divorce. He also attributed the divorce to Low's alleged infidelity.

Between 2011 to 2018, Seet made numerous demands to Low for his fair share of the proceeds, as well as "compensation" for the infidelity, varying from S$200,000 to S$500,000.

He also left a letter on the windscreen of Low's car at ITE College Central sometime before Chinese New Year in 2018, in which he demanded S$500,000 and threatened to commence legal proceedings.

When Low did not respond to the letters and emails, Seet became "increasingly isolated, upset, and depressed".

Engraved dates of ex-wife's alleged affairs on knife

On Jul. 19, 2018, Seet drove a car he had reserved a few days prior to ITE College Central.

He brought along a haversack which contained, three knives, a spanner, and a note addressed to the police which was dated Apr. 12, 2018.

According to court documents, one of the knives had been engraved with “010609” and “020609” on the blade.

The numbers were a reminder of the dates Seet believed he caught his wife having an affair.

The murder

Upon arriving at the college's car park at 4:40pm, Seet then drove around to look for Low's car.

After spotting it, he parked nearby, as he wanted to be "close enough" so he could see when Low returned to her car after work.

At about 7:30pm, Seet saw his ex-wife approaching her car, and immediately walked towards it quickly with the haversack.

As Low entered her car from the driver’s side, Seet also entered through the front passenger side of the car.

Upon seeing Seet, Low screamed loudly, with Seet grabbing her arm in an attempt to stop her from escaping.

After a brief struggle, Low managed to break free from Seet's grasp and get out of the car, but fell as she stepped out from it.

At this point, Seet ran towards Low and stabbed her eight times, including on her upper chest and back.

Seet then stabbed himself on his upper torso repeatedly with the same knife, before collapsing on top of his ex-wife.

According to court documents, Low was found lying in a pool of blood when police officers and paramedics arrived on scene.

She was pronounced dead at scene by a paramedic from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Jul. 19, 2018, at about 8pm.

According to a subsequent autopsy report, the stab wounds on Low's upper chest and back had each been "individually sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death". It was also reported that the eight stab wounds were "inconsistent with being inflicted accidentally" on Low.

Not of unsound mind

Seet was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) for medical treatment under police escort on the same day of the murder, at about 8pm.

He sustained 13 stab wounds, and was in the Intensive Care Unit of TTSH for five days. He was subsequently transferred to Changi General Hospital on Jul. 25, 2018.

In August 2018, Seet was assessed by a psychiatrist not to suffer from any major mental disorder, and was not of unsound mind at the time of the stabbing.

According to CNA, Seet pleaded guilty and declined to contest the charge during trial on Sep. 14, 2021.

By law, a person cannot plead guilty to a capital charge (i.e. offences punishable by death), and Seet was found to be guilty.

Defence lawyer Wendell Wong said that Seet had not wanted to contest the charge to shield his daughter and other loved ones from "re-living the tragedy".

The prosecution said they will not object to life imprisonment for Seet.

He is expected to be sentenced on Sep. 22.

For being charged with murder under 300(c) of the Penal Code, Seet is liable to punishment by the death penalty, or life imprisonment.

Top image via Google Maps via Max Liew