Hairstylist jailed 12 years for killing gay lover who jilted him

SINGAPORE — A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 12 years’ jail on Monday (Sept 26) for stabbing his 48-year-old male lover to death after the latter wanted to end their romantic relationship.

Tan Chee Yeow, who was a hairstylist, had pleaded guilty to one count of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the death of Tan Chin Siong, who was an assistant vice-president at UOB. The stabbing on Sept 4 last year happened at a walkway near Ang Mo Kio MRT Station.

The court heard that the pair, who are both Malaysians, met in Johor Baru in 2007 and started a romantic relationship. 

That year, Tan also moved to Singapore at the victim’s request.

Around 2012, their relationship started to deteriorate because Tan wanted to be “publicly recognised” as the victim’s partner, contrary to the latter’s wishes, the court was told.

Things took a turn for the worse on the victim’s birthday on Aug 28 last year, after Tan complained about not being introduced to his lover’s family as a partner, despite a purported promise.

Tan called the victim’s mother the following day to tell her about the relationship. She was shocked and told Tan that “it was not possible for them”. Later that day, the victim ignored Tan’s calls and messages.
On Aug 30, the victim told Tan over the phone that he was not gay and wanted to get married and have children.

The pair also visited a psychiatrist, who said Tan’s initial diagnosis of “depression with generalised anxiety disorder with alcohol dependence” had been aggravated by their relationship problems. 

Tan had threatened to commit suicide on several occasions, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Faizal. The psychiatrist also advised the victim to delay the break-up while Tan started on medication to “stabilise his emotions”.

On the morning of Sept 4, Tan headed to the victim’s home with a knife he had bought a day earlier to commit suicide with. Tan’s plan was to kill his lover and take his own life if they could not patch up.

When Tan spotted his lover walking towards Ang Mo Kio MRT Station, he pleaded with him, and also repeatedly asked the victim to spend time with him the following day. The victim replied that he needed to keep his family company.

Sensing that there was little chance of them reconciling, Tan stabbed his lover twice in the chest and once in the back before a passer-by stopped him. Other witnesses performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim while Tan wailed repeatedly about killing someone. Tan was arrested at the scene.

Seeking a sentence of 12 to 14 years’ jail on Monday, DPP Mohamed noted the significant level of pre-meditation. Tan’s act during the morning rush hour also posed a risk of causing third-party injuries.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Josephus Tan described the case as one of “betrayed love between lovers”, and argued for a jail term of not more than 12 years. He added that Tan also did not try to flee after the incident.

In a mitigation letter written in Mandarin, Tan said he was remorseful and sought the forgiveness of the victim’s family. 

“I really loved him. This is my life’s regret and will be a lasting pain to me,” he wrote.