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SINGAPORE – After years of verbal abuse by his mentally ill daughter, a father, intending to use a metal pole to defend himself, beat his daughter repeatedly until she fell.
Tan Tian Chye, 66, pressed a cloth against the 35-year-old woman’s neck until she was still.
Tan was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail after pleading guilty on Monday (October 12) to a wrongful death count that does not amount to the murder of his daughter, Desiree Tan Jiaping, in 2018.
Both prosecutors and a High Court judge called it a “tragic case”, and Deputy Prosecutor Bhajanvir Singh noted that Tan was a “doting father” who was the deceased’s primary caretaker.
“The deceased, who herself was diagnosed with various psychiatric conditions, had put tremendous stress on the family and due to this stress, the defendant was later diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and significant stress on the caregiver, both of which contributed the crime and on November 19, 2018, the defendant took the life of the deceased whom he loved very much, ”said the DPP.
Daughter had multiple psychiatric conditions
The court heard that Tan, then 64, and a driver for Grab at the time of the crime, lived in an apartment with his wife and daughter.
Despite graduating from college in 2006, Desiree was unable to have a full-time job and continued to depend on her parents. According to court documents, he passed out at an MRT station in 2012 and was assessed to have “panic attacks with agoraphobia” and “hypochondriacal concerns.” She was too eager to leave the flat on her own and became dependent on her parents and her boyfriend, who moved in with the family.
Desiree also became more picky about all parties, requiring her parents to repeatedly clean items she deemed dirty. She insisted that their food orders be changed if they were wrong and would continually scold them.
The older Tan took time off from work to get Desiree out and help her overcome her anxiety. She also bought a second-hand car for her boyfriend to drive.
In 2017, Desire told her parents that she wanted to apply for a flat with her boyfriend and asked them for money, becoming more abusive and accusing her parents of not loving her enough. She reprimanded them for trivial matters and insisted that her younger brother return the money spent on her education. He also insisted that his parents borrow money from relatives.
The couple gave in to their demands and gave Desire $ 50,000 that her brother had returned, as well as $ 10,000 loaned by Tan’s older brother.
This was not enough for Desiree, who also demanded that she be the sole beneficiary of her parents’ CPF money. Her mother relented and sent evidence to her daughter in the form of a print photo of the nomination.
Desiree’s demeanor worsened in mid-2018, when she was picking on her parents and swearing at them. He complained about the smell of cigarette smoke and demanded that his parents confront their neighbors or use cardboard to keep the smoke away. The elderly couple went out of their way to appease their daughter, including an apologetic bow.
At one point, Tan slapped his wife in front of Desiree, at the wife’s insistence.
Even after Tan brought her daughter to the hospital on October 22, 2018, Desiree refused the medication for fear of being dependent on her. She was discharged and transferred to her aunt’s home.
Incident day
Desiree’s bossy demeanor continued to the point that the couple felt on the brink of suicide.
Things came to a head on November 19, 2018, when Desiree insisted that her father pick her up from her aunt’s house and cancel her Grab reservations. So did it. As he helped Desiree pack her belongings, she reprimanded him for being a “lousy father” and continued to scold him during lunch.
Fork in hand, Desiree said she wanted to kill her father, prompting him to apologize in fear.
When they got back to the apartment, Desiree went to the kitchen and Tan was afraid she might hurt her. He picked up a metal pole in his son’s old bedroom and went into the kitchen, where he saw Desiree pointing a knife at him.
Tan then hit Desiree with the metal pole until she fell to the ground. He pressed her neck with a nearby cloth until the woman froze. Shocked, Tan called the police and his older brother.
Desiree was pronounced dead at 4.17pm, and her cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Major depressive disorder
Upon being examined by a psychiatrist, Tan was diagnosed with a major depressive episode, which substantially affected his mental responsibility for his actions.
“However, the accused was not in a state of mental health at the material time of the crime or in his surroundings, as he was aware of the nature and quality of his actions. The accused felt that the deceased had put him and his wife in such mental torment that it led to suicide, ”said the prosecution.
According to the psychiatrist, Tan had significant stress as a caregiver and his risk of recidivism was low.
The prosecution sought three years in jail while Tan’s attorney, Derek Kang, requested the jail sentence handed down by Judge Hoo Sheau Peng, who also noted that Tan had been a selfless, loving and devoted father who spent years caring for him. his sick daughter.
“As the defense attorney pointed out, the defendant will no doubt continue to suffer the pain and anguish of his action long after his conviction,” said Judge Hoo, who urged Tan to adhere to his treatment plan and support his family . in the process.
“It is, I believe, the wish of all present, that the accused, as well as his family, eventually come to terms with what they have been through and experience a measure of closure and healing in their lives. . “
He added: “I must also add that as a society, it is essential to continue efforts to improve and improve access to mental health services. It is regrettable that much-needed help, support and intervention were not requested or received by the Tan family during those years for their daughter and, subsequently, for the accused. “
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