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SINGAPORE: An elderly man who stabbed his son-in-law three times in broad daylight during a busy lunch hour and stood next to him as he died was sentenced to eight and a half years in jail on Monday (September 21).
The judge said it was a “cruel and shameless murder” but pointed to the defendant’s major depressive disorder at the time, as well as his “rapidly deteriorating” health, which, according to the judge, weighed heavily on his mind. .
Tan Nam Seng, 72, pleaded guilty last month to one count of manslaughter that does not amount to murder in stabbing Spencer Tuppani, 38, near Boon Tat Street three years ago.
Tan’s actions came after Tuppani made several business moves that Tan perceived as a tactic to scam him out of his company. They also lived in the same house, even after Tan’s daughter found out about Mr. Tuppani’s affair with another woman and the couple fought frequently.
READ: Death of Boon Tat Street: Man admits to stabbing his son-in-law for mistreating his daughter and acquiring business
On the day of the incident, July 10, 2017, Tan saw his son-in-law eating at a cafeteria at 121 Telok Ayer Street.
Tan retrieved a knife from the company office in Cecil Court before approaching the younger man, who was with three friends.
The defendant told Mr. Tuppani “you are too much” in Hokkien, before stabbing him three times in rapid succession and following the victim as he stumbled away and collapsed in front of a food and drink establishment.
Tan stood next to his son-in-law and prevented others from helping him, telling them to “let him die” and that “I wish to kill him.” Before the police arrived, Tan kicked the young man’s face twice before calling for his daughter.
He told her: “I can’t sleep at night. I have. I have killed him. Don’t cry. I’m older. I’m not afraid (of) going to jail.”
His daughter cried on the phone and told her father not to do anything, but Tan replied, “What is done cannot be undone.”
The victim was found with three stab wounds and died of one of them, which punctured an artery in the heart.
BUDGET FOR JAIL, VIOLENT DATING AND PUBLIC MURDER
The prosecution called for 12 years in prison and said that while Tan suffered from major depressive disorder, there were “crucial” aggravating factors, including the fact that it was “a tragedy of revenge.”
Tan took revenge on his son-in-law in a “brutal, public and unprovoked murder” in broad daylight, Deputy Prosecutor Lim Jian Yi said.
The act took place in “a very public place in the middle of the central business district”, with a clear reaction from the public of shock and alarm.
Another aggravating factor was Tan’s “cold and insensitive behavior after the stabbing, which prevented help from being provided.”
Mr. Lim said Tan acted “quite rationally” in this case, and should be personally dissuaded “from taking matters into his own hands in the future.”
“There is also a general deterrent value, that the public knows that they cannot take things into their own hands, even if there is a slight against their family, even if there is a business dispute,” Lim said.
He added that it is unknown if the victim was going to scam Tan in his business, and even if he was going to do so, “killing him is not the answer.”
He argued that the court downplayed the letters sent to the court by Tan’s grandchildren, asking for a lenient sentence.
“The fact is, for one thing, these three kids are just three of Spencer’s five kids,” Lim said. “Spencer has two children with another family, neither of whom has said they have forgiven the defendant.”
DEFENSE LISTS COMPLAINTS OF THE ACCUSED WITH SON-IN-LAW
Defense attorney Wee Pan Lee said Tan is a divorcee with only an elementary education who started working as a coolie for a transportation contractor in his teens.
He worked his way up to becoming a ferry employee and later founded his own freight forwarding and shipping company at the age of 27. At its peak, the group of companies employed more than 1,000 people, and Tan intended to prepare Mr. Tuppani to run the business with his daughters after retirement.
However, when Tuppani handled the sale of the business, Tan and his eldest daughter each received just S $ 450,000 instead of the S $ 1 million that Tan said Tuppani had promised. They also did not receive the shares in the new company promised by Tuppani, the defense said.
Over the years, Mr. Tuppani hired his parents as employees and used company funds to pay for his younger brother’s education abroad.
“He used company funds to finance his own lavish lifestyle … for expensive cars, luxury watches and the upkeep of (his) lovers,” Wee said.
Later, Tan discovered her daughter’s marital problems with Mr. Tuppani, who had been “involved in a series of extramarital affairs.” Tan’s daughter kept it from her father so as not to disturb him. She had conceived a fourth child in 2015, but “Spencer forced her to terminate this pregnancy,” Wee said.
Tan began to realize that Mr. Tuppani would not keep his word to return the shares of the company to him and his daughter, and realized that his son-in-law had been surreptitiously recording arguments with his daughter to use in the proceedings of Divorce, against your word with Tan. Don’t fight for custody.
Tuppani also suspended Tan’s other daughter from the company and used vulgarities against Tan’s ex-wife in an argument.
“The defendant realized that he had been the victim of Spencer’s ploy and was planning all the time to keep (the) shares and the cash balance for himself, and the constant guarantees and promises were lies and were part of the Spencer’s ploy to destroy the family, “said Mr. Wee.
Wee said his client had no prior convictions, was not a violent person, and had good relationships with his family and employees.
He also had a good relationship with Mr. Tuppani prior to the incident, and was not only his father-in-law but his mentor, treating him like his own son and letting Mr. Tuppani’s mother stay at Tan’s home.
Tan also suffered multiple health problems during the three years of his pre-trial detention, contracting tuberculosis, suffering two heart attacks and undergoing bypass surgery.
Wee said Tan’s life expectancy is only eight to nine years, and sentencing him to prison for a longer time is effectively a life sentence.
For wrongful death that does not amount to murder, Tan could have been jailed for life. He cannot be spanked because he is over 50 years old.
