Man with mental condition, 27, stabbed woman, 31, at Kallang Wave Mall, planned to kill himself afterwards, gets 5.5 years in jail

A man heard a voice telling him to kill someone.

Chua Jing Yuan, 27, later brought a knife and a claw hammer to Kallang Wave Mall and wandered around for an hour.

He decided to target a 31-year-old woman, slashing and stabbing her before fleeing.

Chua pleaded guilty on Nov. 2 to attempted culpable homicide causing hurt over the attack, reported CNA and The Straits Times.

Two charges for possessing offensive weapons in public was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Chua was originally charged with attempted murder but was assessed to be suffering from major depressive disorder with psychotic features, which allowed him a defence of diminished responsibility.

He was ultimately sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment.

Mental illness

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Chua was first seen at Jurong Polyclinic in May 2021 for anxiety.

He was then referred to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital where he was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

He attended treatment but defaulted after his last appointment on Mar. 20, 2023, when he was observed to have improved.

Subsequently, his mental state deteriorated, and he reported hearing a voice telling him to kill someone else and to end his own life by drinking bleach.

Spotted victim

Sometime on Jul. 13, 2025, Chua decided to act on the instructions of the voice.

According to him, the voice insisted that he dress completely in black clothing and buy bleach, a knife, and a hammer.

Chua bought the items at Jurong Point, then went to a stairwell where his sister lived to pack them into a backpack.

He changed and placed his old clothes into a riser compartment so that his family could find them after he died.

On Jul. 14, 2025, Chua went to Kallang Wave Mall at about 12:30am to find a suitable target.

At about 1:20am, he spotted the victim, who was going to the restroom after drinking with her boyfriend and an acquaintance.

He decided to kill her and uttered “wait a moment” in Mandarin.

The victim stopped in her tracks.

Chua then quickly took the knife from his backpack and slashed the victim on the left side of her neck and stabbed her once in her right chest.

He believed this was the fastest way to kill her.

Chua then fled and searched for another location to commit suicide by drinking bleach.

The victim rushed to her boyfriend and acquaintance, who gave chase and later restrained Chua.

Passers-by at the scene also helped to subdue Chua and called the police.

Threatened to kill himself

When police officers arrived at around 1:30am, Chua asked them to shoot him.

He told the police: "I kill her so that you can shoot me".

He also started banging his head on the ground, threatening to kill himself.

Victim underwent surgery

The victim was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery.

She suffered a stab wound over her chest wall and a laceration over her neck.

The victim remained well post-operatively, and she was discharged the next day, on Jul. 15, 2025.

She was later reviewed in August 2025 and found to have no significant disability.

She incurred medical expenses over S$2,510, of which S$1,590 was reimbursed by insurance.

Major depressive disorder

Chua was assessed at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where he was found to be suffering from major depressive disorder with psychotic features.

The doctor found that this was significantly contributory to his offending as it severely compromised his judgment.

He was reticent, with poor concentration and eye contact, appeared severely depressed and had mood-congruent auditory hallucinations, the doctor said.

However, Chua was found fit to plead in court as he was "not of unsound mind" at the time of the offence.

Chua's condition, however, would have qualified him for a defence of diminished responsibility, as his depression was severe and had badly compromised his judgment.

For attempted culpable homicide causing hurt, Chua can be jailed for up to 15 years, fined, caned, or a combination of the three.

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:

• National mindline.sg Hotline: 1771 (24 hours)
• National mindline.sg WhatsApp: 66691771 (24 hours)
• SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Centre for Domestic Employees: 1800 225 5233 (24 hours)
• Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training: 1800 339 4357 (24 hours)
• HOME (migrant worker): +65 6341 5535 (WhatsApp / Viber / SMS)
• HOME (domestic worker): +65 9787 3122 (WhatsApp / SMS / Call)
• SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 8985 5528 (For targets of online harms)
• National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH): 1800-777-0000