Previously, it was reported that 69-year-old Seet Cher Hng faced a charge of murder by intentionally causing fatal injuries.
This charge was reduced from a charge of murder, which means that he could face either the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The Crime
Lest you’re unaware, on 19 July 2018, Seet ambushed his ex-wife, 56-year-old Ms Low Hwee Geok, inside her car which was parked at ITE College Central.
He entered the front passenger side of the vehicle just as she entered and sat in the driver’s seat.
She screamed when she saw Seet and tried to run out of her car, but unfortunately tripped and fell to the ground. This gave Seet the chance to lunge at her and stab her eight times in total.
After he was done with her, he stabbed himself 13 times in the upper body before collapsing over her.
Ms Low was pronounced dead at the scene while Seet was escorted to the hospital by police officers.
The reason why he committed the crime was that he felt like he did not receive his fair share from the sale of a condominium unit, which the couple had bought.
Furthermore, he felt that he should have been compensated more since Ms Low had cheated on him while they were still married.
As such, he kept sending her letters and e-mails asking her to pay him a sum of $200,000 to $500,000.
Despite his constant demands and e-mail requests, Ms Low ignored him.
Letters Revealed
Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chin revealed in court that Seet had written a few letters and notes to friends and police. In one of the letters, he mentioned that he decided to take her with him and that he turned into a murderer because of his ex-wife.
In a letter to the police, he remarked that taking Ms Low to court for her infidelity would just take an even longer time; as such, he decided to commit murder and subsequently commit suicide.
After all, he “did warn her she would lose big time if she refuses to return my money for my decent old age survival”.
Seet also wrote a letter to his daughter that he had with Ms Low, saying that he hoped that he could see her one last time. He also wrote, “You may not forgive me for what I’m going to do but that’s my decision. I took your mummy away for hurting daddy.”
Seet’s lawyer Wendell Wong explained that Seet had felt isolated and lonely following the discovery of his wife’s infidelity and the divorce. This resulted in his mental well-being becoming negatively affected.
After the incident, Mr Wong said that passers-by had approached Seet, but he told them not to save him.
He asked the court to show some mercy to Seet and not sentence him to the death penalty.
He said that Seet knows he cannot undo what he has done “in this painful family tragedy that has resulted in a loss of life”.
All he asks for is a chance for Seet to continue living so that he can ask for forgiveness from his daughter and hopefully see her again one day.
The Final Verdict
Justice Aedit Abdullah said that while Seet may have his grievances against his ex-wife, it did not give him the right to take away her life. He also said that the murder of the victim “is to be deplored”.
At the end of the hearing, he said that the case presented does not warrant the death penalty.
And since the prosecution did not object to the punishment proposed by the defence counsel, the court ultimately sentenced Seet to life imprisonment.
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