SINGAPORE: A married man who was having an affair with an old flame became upset when the woman, who is also married, wanted to end their extra-marital relationship.
Chong Shiong Hui sent Joey Lee many threatening messages, and went to her HDB block, where he deflated the tyres of her husband’s car and then meddled with the electrical switchboard outside her flat.
The next day, Chong and Lee agreed to meet at his parents’ house in Toh Tuck.
When she arrived, Chong repeatedly slashed her, first with a chopper, then with a kitchen knife, and also swung a handsaw at her.
Lee, 43, survived the attack but is permanently scarred.
On Thursday (Nov 28), Chong, 45, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder for the horrific assault on the afternoon of Nov 30, 2019, which was witnessed by his parents and their neighbours.
Two mischief charges – one for flicking the switches outside Lee’s flat, and the other for loosening the air valve caps of the car tyres – were taken into consideration.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong sought a sentence of 16 to 18 years’ jail and five to six strokes of the cane, while defence counsel Joyce Khoo argued for not more than 10 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.
Sentencing was adjourned to Dec 6.
Chong’s wife and sister were allowed to speak to him after the court session.
Khoo said during mitigation that her client’s family, especially his wife, continues to be supportive of him.
Chong and Lee were in a relationship about 20 years ago, but broke up within a year. They eventually married other people.
In August 2017, they reconnected and began having an affair, but Lee’s husband found out about it in November 2018.
On Nov 28, 2019, Lee told Chong in a WhatsApp message that she wanted to take a break from their relationship.
From the night of Nov 29 to the next morning, Chong sent Lee a string of messages threatening to kill or hurt himself, her, her then six-year-old daughter and her husband.
At about 4am on Nov 30, he took a chopper from his home and went to Lee’s flat. On the way, he bought two tins of petrol.
Outside her flat, he turned off the main power switch to get the occupants’ attention, but got no response.
Chong slept in his car after drinking some cognac mixed with water. He returned to Lee’s flat at around 7am, but her husband said she was not in.
Chong left but continued sending threatening messages to Lee, saying he wanted to “see blood”.
Lee then arranged to meet Chong at his parents’ home. The prosecutor said she did not take the threats seriously and intended to ask his parents to control their son.
At his parents’ home, Chong took a knife from the kitchen and placed it on a table together with the chopper. He also had a glove that he took from his car so that he would have a better grip of the knife.
When Lee entered the porch area, Chong locked the front gate, and put on the glove.
He then grabbed the chopper from the table and slashed her forearms and her head with it.
As she screamed and tried to dodge, Chong slashed her thigh. In the struggle, Lee managed to kick the chopper away.
Chong then retrieved the knife, grabbed Lee by the neck and asked her if she ever loved him.
She replied yes, and Chong told her in Mandarin: “Let’s die together.” When she said she did not want to die with him, he slashed her back and the back of her head.
Chong then dropped the knife and picked up a handsaw that was lying around. But he found it to be too unwieldy and put it down.
At this point, Chong’s parents returned home. Lee fled when the gate opened, but Chong picked up the chopper and slashed her on her back.
Lee shouted for neighbours to call the police, but Chong chased her down the road and stamped on her as she lay on the ground.
His mother caught up with them and told him to stop attacking Lee.
Chong was arrested, and Lee was taken to hospital with knife wounds to her head and torso, as well as skull fractures.
She was hospitalised for five days and given two months’ hospitalisation leave.
Her head and neck are permanently disfigured, and she has to live with scars on her back and arms for the rest of her life, said the prosecutor. - The Straits Times/ANN
