A 31-year-old cook who was briefly in a relationship with a 'flower joint' hostess and unhappy that she had lied to him about things including her age repeatedly stabbed her with a knife in public intending to kill her, a court heard.
The assault on the 38-year-old victim outside Muthu's Curry along Race Course Road in July 2019 was so forceful that the ceramic blade broke into two, and fragments of the weapon were found in the victim's wounds.
The assailant also bit off part of the victim's left ear lobe and spat out the torn flesh. She survived the ordeal.
At the High Court on Tuesday (23 February), the culprit Chen Jianhui, now 32, was jailed for five-and-a-half years.
He pleaded guilty to one charge each of attempted culpable homicide, criminal trespass and criminal intimidation.
Culprit was in relationship with victim
Chen and the victim, both Chinese nationals, lived in different sections at the same hostel. They befriended each other via WeChat around February 2019. He would buy her gifts and help her out financially, the court heard.
"The accused and victim were not physically intimate, although they regarded each other as boyfriend and girlfriend," said Deputy Public Prosecutors Dora Tay and Andrew Low.
Around early July, their relationship went downhill as Chen suspected that she was not telling him the truth. "The accused was suspicious that the victim was working as more than a host in a ‘flower joint’ as she claimed to be. He even went so far as to tail her as she refused to tell him the exact location of her workplace," the prosecutors said.
On 7 July, Chen searched through the victim's belongings in her room when she was out and found her personal particulars. "He was shocked to find out that the victim had lied about her age when she was seven years older than him," said DPPs Tay and Low.
Among other things, Chen made off with her mobile phone and two red packets containing $400 cash each.
Culprit threatened to kill victim
Later, he went to Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre as he wanted to make a report against the victim for cheating him, but he eventually left without doing so as he felt that it would not help get his money back.
Chen then contacted the victim over WeChat and confronted her for having cheated his money and lying to him. "He tabulated all his past expenditure on her and demanded that she pay him back a certain sum of money. He also used vulgarities towards her during their conversation," said the prosecutors.
Among other things, Chen told the victim over WeChat, "I tell you, at most, we’ll die together, I’ll make you die, I tell you." He also said, "if you cannot repay in full, I see you, we’ll die together, I tell you".
Over the next few days, the culprit continued to confront the victim in person and over the phone, asking her to pay him back his money.
Around 9 July, the victim realised that her items were missing and suspected Chen of stealing them. She told him that she would report him to the police. He was upset and worried about being sent back to China as he still had debts to settle back home, the court heard.
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