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SINGAPORE: A pair of lovers who reconnected more than a decade after ending their first relationship began an extramarital affair.

But after the 43-year-old woman ended the affair, her jilted lover Chong Shiong Hui attacked her with a knife and a helicopter, leaving the woman with permanent scars.

Chong pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Thursday (Nov 28). Two more mischief charges – related to acts he committed before the crime – will be taken into account at his sentencing.

The prosecutor asked for 16 to 18 years in prison and five or six strokes of the cane, while his lawyer, Joyce Khoo, argued for about ten years in prison and five strokes of the cane.

RECONNECTED AFTER 15 YEARS

The court heard Chong met Joey Lee about 20 years ago. They dated briefly but broke up within a year in 2002.

In August 2017, the couple reconnected. By then both were already married.

The victim’s husband eventually discovered the affair in November 2018.

In November 2019, the victim decided to end the affair. She messaged Chong on Nov. 28, 2019, saying she wanted to “take a break from their relationship,” Deputy District Attorney Andre Chong told the court.

Over the next two days, Chong repeatedly threatened to hurt the victim, her then six-year-old daughter, her husband or herself.

After a night of drinking with his wife on November 29, Chong continued to send messages to intimidate the victim, threatening to make her a “widow”. He went to bed after taking medication to help him sleep.

The next day, after a call to the victim went unanswered, Chong went to her home by helicopter after 4 a.m. He also took two cans of gasoline, cigarettes and a lighter.

When he reached the victim’s block, he deflated the tires of her husband’s cars because he did not want the man to follow him later. He continued to sip from a bottle of brandy mixed with water the entire time.

He later turned off the main switch to the victim’s unit. The victim’s housekeeper spotted Chong outside the unit after noticing her fan had stopped working.

When no one responded, Chong returned to his car and fell asleep.

At approximately 7 a.m., he returned and called the victim and her husband, but was still unable to speak to the victim. He continued to send her harassing messages and even sent a photo of the gasoline and the helicopter.

The victim then told Chong not to threaten her and arranged to meet him at his parents’ home.

“She did not take the suspect’s threats seriously and planned to tell the suspect’s parents about their affair and ask his parents to keep the suspect under control. The suspect asked her to meet at his parents’ home if they wanted,” the prosecutor said. .

THE ATTACK

At around 1pm on November 30, 2019, Chong went to his parents’ house in Toh Tuck district to wait for the victim. He brought a fruit knife, along with the helicopter and gasoline in the car. He also took a knife from his parents’ kitchen and placed it on the table near the chopper.

When the victim arrived alone at 1:25 p.m., she wanted to talk to Chong outside the gate, but Chong pulled her inside and the gate was automatically locked. Chong wore a glove on his right hand to better grip his weapon.

Chong pointed the helicopter at the victim and argued with the woman before punching her in the forearm, noting the helicopter was blunt.

The two continued to argue about why they should end the relationship.

At one point the woman managed to run to the garden. But Chong caught up with her, grabbed her by the neck and demanded to know if the victim “ever loved him.” She answered yes, prosecutors said.

“The suspect told her ‘let’s die together’ in Mandarin, prompting the victim to say she did not want to die with him,” the prosecutor said.

Chong tried to cut the woman, hurting her back and the back of her head. A neighbor heard the victim’s screams and saw the victim defending himself with a flower pot.

During the attack, Chong also picked up a handsaw with an 18-inch blade that he saw lying on the porch of the car, intending to attack the victim with it. But he gave it up because he found it too cumbersome.

At this point, Chong’s parents returned home and the victim took the opportunity to flee through the open gate.

However, the attack continued. Chong hit her on her back, and when the victim fell, he stomped on her, including her head and back.

He only stopped when his 72-year-old mother caught up with him.

When police arrived at 1:39 p.m., the victim was covered in blood and accompanied by Chong’s mother. Chong identified himself as the attacker and was arrested.

VICTIM PERMANENTLY SCARED

The victim suffered lacerations to her right ear, scalp, pelvis, forearms and around her eye. She had a stab wound to her right chest and a laceration across her back, as well as fractures to her skull.

She was given two months of hospital leave and suffered permanent deformities in the form of scarring and scalp alopecia (hair loss) as a result of the cuts on her scalp, ear, neck and around her eye.

“(The victim) has many scars on her back, arms and hand and has to wear long-sleeved tops or a jacket all the time, causing discomfort in her customer-facing job as a manager,” the prosecutor said. Her medical expenses amounted to more than S$24,000 (US$17,900).

He added that the victim has many flashbacks of the attack, which disrupt her sleep. Concerned about the possibility of Chong taking revenge, the family moved.

Chong had no substance abuse problems and was not mentally ill, the prosecutor noted.

In sentencing, the prosecutor noted that the crime was largely premeditated.

“The suspect lured the victim to his parents’ home, prepared the weapons in anticipation of her arrival and closed the gates behind the victim to create a death trap.

“He even decided to get a better grip on the handles of the kitchen knife and the chopping knife by wearing a glove.”

Mitigating for Chong, Ms Khoo said her client was driven by an “intense emotion of betrayal”.

On the victim’s concerns about revenge, Ms Khoo said Chong had “fully accepted” that his relationship with her was over.

“He is determined to focus on his own family to make up for lost time and we … maintain that our client in this case no longer poses any threat to the victim,” she said.

“This man standing before you today is deeply remorseful for this action…he is ashamed of having disappointed his family and knows he must pay the price for his actions.”

The lawyer added that Chong has not seen his son since the day of the crime, when the boy was just eight years old.

“Five years later, our client’s son has little or no memory of our client,” she said. She added that Chong’s wife continues to support him.

Chong’s wife and sister were present in court for the hearing.

Judge Aidan Xu @ Aedit Abdullah reserved his judgment and is expected to deliver the verdict on December 6.