[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – A semi-retired businessman who fatally stabbed his son-in-law in front of a lunchtime crowd three years ago was sentenced to eight and a half years in jail on Monday (September 21) in what Judge Dedar Singh Gill described it as “tragic”. case.
Tan Nam Seng, 72, was unhappy with the way the young man had treated his daughter and believed it was part of a tactic to cheat him in his business.
Tan had pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of wrongful death for stabbing Spencer Tuppani, 39, in the chest three times in front of a Telok Ayer Street cafeteria at around 1:20 p.m. on July 10, 2017.
CCTV footage reproduced in court showed Mr. Tuppani fleeing and collapsing in front of a restaurant on Boon Tat Street.
The older man was seen in the footage kicking Mr. Tuppani twice in the face and driving away passersby.
While waiting for the police to arrive, Tan called his daughter to tell her what he had done.
“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,” he told her.
Tan was originally charged with murder, but the charge was dropped after it was discovered that he had a major depressive disorder.
The Superior Court heard that he was unhappy with the way Mr. Tuppani had treated his daughter and believed it was part of a scheme to scam him out of his business.
The couple agreed to divorce, but they frequently fought over issues such as custody of their three children.
Tan discovered that Mr. Tuppani was recording the arguments and suspected that he planned to use the recordings in divorce proceedings.
After Tan’s youngest daughter Sherry was suspended from the company on July 4, 2017, he believed that Tuppani planned to scam him out of his business by divorcing Shyller Tan after taking control of all of his shares.
On July 10, 2017, Tan was on his way to Cecil Court’s office when he saw Mr. Tuppani on Telok Ayer Street. When he got to his office, Tan went to the pantry to get a knife and then headed to the cafeteria.
He told Mr. Tuppani “you are too much” in Hokkien before pulling the knife out of his bag and stabbing the young man.
After Mr. Tuppani collapsed on Boon Tat Street, Tan told passers-by: “This is my son-in-law, don’t help him, let him die.”
He then placed the bloody knife on a table next to him and calmly sat down in a nearby chair.
When Ms. Shyller Tan cried on the phone after hearing what she had done, he told her, “What is done cannot be undone.”
The maximum penalty for wrongful death is life imprisonment and spanking. Tan cannot be whipped because he is over 50 years old.
This article was first published in The times of the strait. Permission is required for reproduction.
