Woman, 46, found dead at Boon Lay HDB, 'deliberately ended' life over mounting lawsuit costs: Coroner's inquiry

A 46-year-old woman who died from a fall from a height in Boon Lay appeared to have deliberately ended her life after accumulating mounting legal fees from lawsuits.

This was shared in court on Nov. 7, by a police officer testifying regarding the results of an investigation on the case, as part of a Coroner's Inquiry into the cause and circumstances of the woman's unnatural death.

The court heard that at around 1pm on Sep. 6, Geno Ong Kay Yong arrived at Block 208 Boon Lay Place and took the lift up alone.

She was pronounced dead at the foot of Block 208 Boon Lay Place at about 1:15pm on the same day.

No signs of struggle

Investigating Officer Jeremy Kuan, who prepared the investigation report, testified as a witness at the Coroner's Inquiry.

An autopsy report revealed that Ong's death was due to multiple injuries that were sustained from a fall from a height.

There were no signs of struggle.

Kuan said it was possible that Ong had mounted and scaled the parapet.

Based on the autopsy report, there was no significant medical history or substances that may have contributed to her death.

Two handwritten suicide notes found

Two handwritten suicide notes were also found on Ong, with one containing a request to inform her siblings regarding her death, and the other mentioning her dispute with businessman Raymond Ng.

In an email addressed to her siblings, Ong had said her death had nothing to do with them and that "it's not depression".

She also wrote she didn't want to involve her siblings in her search for justice as they "don’t have much money too".

Ong wrote that she died to go against Raymond Ng, and that it was "to save the rest of the thousands of victims in Singapore", adding that "this is my decision" and that she wanted to stop Ng.

A post on Ong's Facebook was published on the same day at 1:07pm, stating that she "j*mped d*wn" because Ng filed two lawsuits against her.

The costs were "escalating" to nearly S$100,000, she wrote, adding that she could not afford it anymore, as her legal fees had been paid with a loan from a friend.

Kuan said Ng initiated four sets of court proceedings against Ong in the past three years since 2021.

Two were regarding Ong's supposed defamation of Ng in her posts on social media, where she warned netizens that the latter ran businesses that were allegedly fraudulent.

Ng had also said he will "sue everyone that defamed" him in the past few years, Kuan testified.

Talks of mediation failed

In the Facebook post, Ong also said Ng had promised to file more lawsuits against her, having sent multiple pre-action letters, all related to the defamation actions.

From July to August 2024, there were discussions about mediation between Ong and Ng.

However, Ng said there was no point in mediation unless Ong refrained from attacking him online. He did not provide any specific evidence on these attacks, saying he could "go find" evidence, but that it would take time.

"Deliberately ended her life"

Based on the evidence gathered, it would appear that Ong deliberately ended her life and did so by way of falling from a height, the investigation report concluded.

Evidence also suggested that the triggering factor for her decision to end her life was the court actions initiated by Ng and the mounting legal fees.

She also faced various health problems, which she attributed to the stress from the ongoing lawsuits.

She appeared to believe that she "died for justice", with her death serving as a warning to others.

The coroner will deliver his findings on Dec. 12.

HELPLINES

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001-01-4616 | Whatsapp: 65714400 (for targets of online harms)

Top image via Amber Tay