16 years’ jail, caning for married man who slashed lover after she decided to end affair

A married man, who slashed his lover with a chopper and a knife after the woman decided to end their extra-marital affair, was sentenced to 16 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane on Dec 6.

Chong Shiong Hui, 45, had pleaded guilty on Nov 28 to a charge of attempted murder for the attack on Ms Joey Lee, 43, on Nov 30, 2019. Ms Lee, who is also married, survived the assault which took place at Chong’s parents’ house in Toh Tuck, but is permanently disfigured.

On Dec 6, Justice Aidan Xu addressed Chong directly in sentencing him. The judge said Chong’s actions on the night before the attack – such as sending threatening messages to Ms Lee – showed “a clear egregious and sustained intent to commit harm”.

“You lured the victim to your parents’ place, where she intended to speak to you to end your relationship, but you chose instead to make use of the premises, to trap her, threaten her and then attack her, when she did not give in to your plea to continue,” he said.

Justice Xu added: “Given the vicious and sustained attack, as well as your cunning trap for the victim, it is clear that the main sentencing objective is punishment and deterrence.”

The judge also considered that there was substantial impact on security and peace of the public space, given that the incident occurred in a residential neighbourhood. 

Two mischief charges – one for flicking the switches outside Ms Lee’s flat, and the other for loosening the air valve caps of the tyres of her husband’s car – were taken into consideration.

Chong and Ms Lee were in a relationship about 20 years ago, but broke up within a year.

They were married to other people when they reconnected in 2017 and decided to have an affair.

Ms Lee’s husband found out about the affair in November 2018.

On Nov 28, 2019, Ms Lee told Chong in a WhatsApp message that she wanted to take a break from their relationship.

From the night of Nov 29 to the next morning, Chong sent Ms Lee a string of messages threatening to kill or hurt himself, her, her then six-year-old daughter and her husband.

At about 4am on Nov 30, he took a chopper from his home and went to Ms Lee’s flat. On the way, he bought two tins of petrol, which he intended to use to intimidate her.

At her HDB block, Chong let the air out of the tyres of her husband’s car. Outside her flat, he turned off the main power switch to get the occupants’ attention, but received no response.

Chong slept in his car after drinking some cognac mixed with water. He returned to Ms Lee’s flat around 7am, but her husband said she was not in. Chong left but continued sending threatening messages to Ms Lee, saying he wanted to “see blood”.

She then arranged to meet him at his parents’ home. Prosecutors said she did not take the threats seriously and intended to ask his parents to control their son.

At his parents’ home, Chong took a knife from the kitchen and placed it on a table together with the chopper. He also had a glove that he took from his car to give him a better grip of the knife.

When Ms Lee arrived at the house, she wanted to speak outside, but he pulled her into the porch area and locked the front gate.

He then put on the glove, grabbed the chopper and slashed her forearms and her head with it.

As she screamed, Chong slashed her thigh. In the struggle, Ms Lee managed to kick the chopper away.

Chong then grabbed the knife, held Ms Lee by the neck and asked her if she ever loved him.

She replied yes, and Chong told her in Mandarin: “Let’s die together.” When she said she did not want to die with him, he slashed her back and the back of her head.

Chong then dropped the knife and picked up a handsaw that was lying around. But he found it to be too unwieldy and put it down.

At this point, Chong’s parents returned home. Ms Lee fled when the gate opened, but Chong picked up the chopper and slashed her on her back.

Ms Lee shouted for neighbours to call the police, but Chong chased her down the road and stamped on her as she lay on the ground. His mother caught up with them and told him to stop attacking Ms Lee.

Chong was arrested, and Ms Lee was taken to hospital with multiple knife wounds to her head and torso, as well as skull fractures. She was hospitalised for five days and given two months’ hospitalisation leave.

Chong’s lawyer, Ms Joyce Khoo, said during mitigation that her client’s family, especially his wife, continues to be supportive of him.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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