bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A Vietnamese woman was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for murdering her boyfriend along a corridor of a public housing block in Singapore’s Ang Mo Kio four years ago.
Nguyen Ngoc Giau, 43, was found guilty of the charge on Tuesday, with Justice Dedar Singh Gill saying he was satisfied that the elements of the charge had been established beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I also find that the accused has not succeeded in establishing, on a balance of probabilities, either the defence of intoxication or the defence of sudden fight,” he added.
Nguyen had stabbed Cho Wang Keung, 51, along the common corridor on the fifth floor of Block 562, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, on July 15, 2021.
Cho was a jewellery assembler and landlord who owned a three-room flat at the public housing block.
Nguyen, who is a Singapore permanent resident, moved in as a tenant in July 2020 but began sharing a bedroom with Cho after they became romantically involved.
In July 2021, the couple fell out because Cho wanted to break up with her and evict her.
After drinking beer and making unanswered calls to Cho, Nguyen sharpened a knife and confronted him outside the flat at about 12.50am on July 15, 2021.
When she discovered a male tenant taking photos of the assault, Nguyen turned on him and he fled down the stairs, the court heard previously.
The police arrived minutes after that and found the couple in a pool of blood. Cho died later that morning of stab wounds to the neck, chest and back.
Nguyen was assessed to have alcohol-use disorder and likely to be in a state of “acute alcohol intoxication” at the time, a report by the Institute of Mental Health showed.
She was represented by three sets of lawyers under the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences, namely, Favian Kang from Centurion Law, Kalaithasan Karuppaya from Regent Law and Ng Yuan Siang from Eugene Thuraisingam’s eponymous law firm.
At the trial, Nguyen – a petite woman with long hair – testified about her tumultuous relationship with the victim.
She had first come to Singapore in 2010 and met her husband while working in a KTV lounge. They married after two months and have two children together.
She said she last visited her children in 2019, and her last contact with her husband was some time before that.
She said Cho was also married when they began their relationship and that he grew fond of her after she cared for his daughter, who was more than two years old at the time.
However, she said they drank and quarrelled every day and fought about five times a week.
In the defence’s closing submissions, it urged the court to find her guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead.
It argued that this was “not an egregious case”, but that of a couple in an unhealthy relationship, which was “plagued by quarrels and fights”.
“Ms Nguyen and the deceased allowed their passions to get the better of themselves due to alcohol,” the lawyers said.
“A misunderstanding was blown out of proportion. They quarrelled and hit each other many times before, but their previous fights did not reach a nasty stage like the present instance, where both sustained multiple serious stab injuries.”
The defence also said that Nguyen was so intoxicated that she could not have formed the intention to cause the stab wounds to the victim or that his death was caused by a sudden fight.
The lawyers argued that Nguyen suffered very serious and life-threatening injuries, raising the possibility that the victim had inflicted them during a violent struggle, which is a foothold for establishing the defence of a sudden fight.
However, the judge rejected the defences put forth by the lawyers and convicted Nguyen.
The prosecution said that it would not be seeking the death penalty for this case and that there was “no issue of caning” given her gender. Under the law, women cannot be caned.
The defence had nothing to add since the only other possible sentence for the charge was life imprisonment.
Nguyen told the court: “I wish to appeal.”
She was convicted of murder under Section 300(c) of the Penal Code, where the act is done with the intention to cause bodily injury to a person and the injury intended is enough to cause death. The maximum penalty is death or life imprisonment with caning.
This story was first published by CNA


Hormuz crisis a chance to spur Asia’s shift to clean, secure energy

How the Gulf conflict recast risks for Asian investors in Dubai

Hong Kong’s listing reform 2.0: can it outshine global rivals for innovative firms?

Singapore, Australia vow uninterrupted fuel supply amid global energy shock

Singapore

Vietnamese woman jailed for life over murder of boyfriend outside Singapore flat

Singapore’s skyline. A Vietnamese woman was sentenced to life for murdering her boyfriend in the city state. Photo: AFP

Viral clip of 91-year-old Singaporean janitor sparks discussion on ageing and work

Screenshot from viral video of fitness influencer Jaden Laing speaking to a 91-year-old cleaner in Singapore. Photo: Instagram / Jaden Laing

Elderly people playing checkers in Singapore’s Chinatown. Photo: AFP

Elderly residents watch as the Silver Pride Lion Troupe performs at the Fei Yue Active Ageing Centre in Singapore. Photo: AFP

How AI is redefining Singapore’s home renovation landscape: ‘it’s so easy’

A neighbourhood park amid Singapore’s public housing blocks. More homeowners in Singapore are turning to generative AI tools to plan renovations instead of hiring interior designers. Photo: Shutterstock

AI-powered platform Roomer 5D helped Riana J. Saman visualise what her house would look like.  Photo: Handout

ChatGPT generated a mock-up design with a hand-drawn layout and furniture colour specifications for software designer Noel Lou. Photo: Handout

Cheryl Ong and Wayne Teng saved about S$35,000 from not hiring an interior designer. Photo: Handout

Singapore’s public housing blocks. The rise of generative AI across creative industries such as interior design has triggered widespread concerns about job security. Photo: Getty Images

Vietnamese woman stabbed to death over noise dispute in Singapore

Singapore’s skyline. A man was arrested for murder following a fatal stabbing over noise row in the city state. Photo: AFP

Police officers on the sixth floor of Block 323 Yishun Central in Singapore on Wednesday. Photo: CNA

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Nguyen Ngoc Giau, who stabbed Cho Wang Keung in 2021, said she would challenge her conviction


Nguyen Ngoc Giau, who stabbed Cho Wang Keung in 2021, said she would challenge her conviction.


Vietnam

Crime

Vietnamese woman jailed for life over murder of boyfriend outside Singapore flat

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Nguyen Ngoc Giau, who stabbed Cho Wang Keung in 2021, said she would challenge her conviction

Nguyen Ngoc Giau, who stabbed Cho Wang Keung in 2021, said she would challenge her conviction