S'porean man, 45, tried to kill woman he was having affair with after she wanted to break up, gets 16 years' jail

A Singaporean man lured the woman he had an affair with to his parents' home under the pretext of a meet-up after she ended their relationship.

But instead of initiating a conversation, he attacked her with a chopper, a kitchen knife, and a saw.

He then chased her onto the streets and stamped on her body a few times.

Chong Shiong Hui was on Dec. 6 sentenced to 16 years' jail and five strokes of the cane for attempted murder.

Justice Aidan Xu called it a "vicious and sustained attack" during sentencing.

"These were not the misguided actions of a young immature person," he said of the 45-year-old.

The victim is two years younger than the accused.

A two-year-long affair

The court earlier heard that Chong and the woman started their affair in 2017.

They had dated years ago, and despite being married to other people, decided to resume their relationship in the form of an extramarital affair.

The affair continued for two years, despite the woman's husband discovering it in 2018.

In November 2019, the victim decided to end the relationship.

She sent him a text on Nov. 28, 2019, saying she "wanted to take a break from their relationship".

Red flags

Over the next two days, he sent multiple threatening messages to her over WhatsApp, saying he would hurt the victim, her family, or himself.

He also threatened to make her a "widow".

In the early morning on Nov. 30, 2019, he tried to call the victim but failed.

He then visited her home with a concealed chopper and two tins of petrol and cigarettes, intending to intimidate her.

When her husband said he would call the police, Chong sent the woman further messages saying he would kill anyone who "blocked" him, such as the woman, her family, and her parents.

He also sent her photos of the chopper.

The attack

Finally, the woman agreed to meet him at his parents' house, where she intended to speak with him and end the relationship.

Unbeknownst to her, Chong brought a fruit knife with him, along with the chopper and the petrol, as well as gloves for a "better grip on the knife".

When she arrived, he pulled her into the car porch area and closed the gate.

They began to argue. Midway through the argument, he slashed her with the chopper multiple times, causing slash wounds on her head and back.

He then switched to the kitchen knife, threatened to kill her, and continued his assault.

As the woman screamed for help, he once again switched his weapon to a saw, but found that it was "too cumbersome" to use.

At one point, he told the woman in Mandarin, "Let's die together."

She replied that she did not want to die with him.

Attempted escape

The attack continued until his parents returned home and opened the gate, after being informed by a neighbour of the assault.

The woman attempted to run away through the now-open gate.

However, Chong pursued her and continued to slash her on the back with a chopper, chasing her through the streets.

He made her fall and stamped on the woman's body several times.

It was only when his 72-year-old mother intervened and asked him to stop did the attack finally end.

Chong was subsequently arrested, and found to be intoxicated at the time of the attack.

Left disfigured

As a result of the attack, the woman was permanently disfigured, with lacerations on her scalp, multiple skull fractures, and stab and slash wounds on her neck, chest, spine, and limbs.

She was also left with "scarring and substantial psychological impact", the judge said.

Justice Xu pointed out that the attack was clearly planned, as Chong had deliberately obtained the weapons and brought them to the scene of the crime.

"The attack itself was vicious, continuous and persistent... this was not just a single slash borne out of a temporary loss of control in the midst of a quarrel," he said.

The judge also dismissed the letters testifying to the accused's character that Chong had submitted, saying that such attestations only assist "in very limited circumstances".

He similarly dismissed Chong's mitigatory claim that he planned to leave Singapore and move to Beijing after the sentence.

"That does not help. You are a citizen, and thus are entitled to reside in Singapore," he said.

For attempted murder, Chong could have received life imprisonment and caning, or up to 20 years' imprisonment and fine or caning, or both.

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