Man, 58, strangles younger brother in Boon Lay flat after cleaning dispute, gets 8 years in jail

Angered by his younger brother's cleaning habits at home, a man strangled him to death on Mar. 11, 2025, then called an ambulance hours later.

Abdul Rani Bin Md Ariffin, 58, admitted to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel that he had choked and suffocated his 56-year-old brother.

On Jun. 30, he pleaded guilty in court to one charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Calling the incident a "sad and tragic case", the judge sentenced him to eight years in prison, taking into consideration his diagnosis of schizophrenia and adjustment disorder.

Caregiver

At the time of the offence, Abdul Rani was living with the victim, Abdul Rahman, and their two sisters at Block 187 Boon Lay Avenue.

After their mother passed away in 2010, Abdul Rani was the one taking care of all three siblings staying in the unit.

He would bring them to medical appointments and buy household items and groceries for them.

Cleaning dispute

The prosecution told the court that on Jan. 27, 2025, Abdul Rahman was hospitalised for a week due to swelling and bruising.

He was later diagnosed with acquired Hemophilia A — an inherited bleeding disorder.

After his discharge, Abdul Rahman started cleaning the unit frequently.

He would take out household items, sort through them, discard unwanted things, and rearrange or store the remainder in drawers.

He usually did not complete cleaning one area before moving on to another, leaving multiple piles of unsorted items throughout the apartment.

This cleaning practice also occurred at night.

This behaviour caused Abdul Rani to feel "fed up" with his brother, the prosecution said.

He would ask his brother why he was incessantly cleaning and tidying up, and Abdul Rahman would tell him not to be a busybody.

The incident

Around 3am on Mar. 11, 2025, Abdul Rani heard one of his sisters tell Abdul Rahman he still had not finished tidying up.

The younger brother scolded her, but Abdul Rani could not recall what he said.

He went to his younger brother's bedroom to reprimand him and asked, "Why does the cleaning never end?"

His younger brother replied, "I clean as I wish to la."

Abdul Rani was angered by this response and how his brother scolded his sister, and he suddenly felt like strangling his brother.

According to the prosecution, he also pitied his brother because of his many illnesses and his poor memory. He wanted to make his brother's worries disappear.

He went behind his brother and put his arm around him from the back, then squeezed his neck until he stopped moving.

Abdul Rahman, who did not struggle, started to foam at the mouth. Despite seeing the foam, the older brother climbed over his hip and strangled him again with his hands.

He also pressed a cushion down over his nose hard until he was sure his younger brother was dead.

He intended to cause his brother's death, though he understood that what he did was wrong, the prosecution said.

Around 11:19am the next morning, Abdul Rani called for an ambulance, saying that he had choked his brother and that the body was already cold and stiff.

The younger brother was pronounced dead at the scene, and Abdul Rani was arrested shortly after.

Psychiatric evaluation

The prosecution previously sought an evaluation at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), and in court referred to a psychiatric report on Abdul Rani.

Noting that Abdul Rani has an established diagnosis of schizophrenia, the report stated he was not in an active relapse at the time of his assessment, and was not in an active relapse nor of unsound mind at the time of the offence.

However, he demonstrated difficulties in emotional regulation and expression, and his clinical presentation at the time of the offence is believed to be indicative of an adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct.

The report added that he was also facing caregiver stress related to caring for his younger brother at the time.

In addition to adjustment disorder, he had a mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct that included a depressed mood state and irritability.

These symptoms would have a real and material effect or influence on his ability to appreciate the moral wrongfulness of his actions during the offence, the report said.

Sentencing

The prosecution sought a sentence of eight to ten years in prison, saying that it would reflect the gravity of the offence.

They noted the psychiatrist's assessment that Abdul Rani is not of any imminent or significant risk to himself or others, both in the prison and community settings, and would benefit from psychiatric follow-up and treatment.

However, they also highlighted that the murder was a "sustained attack" that continued even after the younger brother had stopped moving and was foaming.

This demonstrated a "disturbing level of violence", the prosecution argued.

They added that there was an abuse of familial trust and of the victim's vulnerability, as he had been discharged from the hospital not long before.

Abdul Rani's lawyer emphasised the psychiatric assessment about the lack of imminent risk, and that the case was a situation of caretaker fatigue, and of friction between the two brothers.

Abdul Rani would have to live the rest of his life with the conscience he had taken away his brother’s life, the lawyer added.

Taking all this into consideration, the judge said that an offence of causing death with the intention of doing so is undoubtedly a grave offence.

He sentenced Abdul Rani to eight years in prison, backdated to the date of his arrest on Mar. 11, 2025.