Man behind Sheng Siong kidnapping pleads for death penalty, gets life sentence

SINGAPORE — He was facing life in prison or the gallows, but even before he learnt his fate for kidnapping the elderly mother of Sheng Siong supermarket chain’s founder, Lee Sze Yong had decided he would rather be hanged.

The 44-year-old who had abducted Madam Ng Lye Poh, 81, and unsuccessfully demanded S$20 million in ransom, turned up for his sentencing on Thursday (Dec 1) with this unusual request, set out in a three-page letter he had written while he was in remand.

“I plead Your Honourable Justice to impose death penalty instead of deprivation of liberty for the rest of my life. I had ruined my life. By dying, I hope that I have repaid my debt and to be at peace,” Lee wrote, lamenting that he would “despise (himself) as a failure (for) as long as (he) lives”.

His plea got nowhere.

Justice Chan Seng Onn sentenced Lee to jail for life and three strokes of the cane, as called for by the prosecution and the defence. But he took time to urge Lee to change his outlook.

“One must not despair to that extent ... You are young. There is still hope that at the end of the day ... (you can) turn over a new leaf,” said the judge. He also urged Lee to hold out hope, as his sentence would be eligible for review after 20 years, under a provision stipulated in the Prisons Act. Lee kept silent, with his head bowed throughout.

The kidnapping, on Jan 8, 2014, was Singapore’s first kidnap-for-ransom case in more than a decade. During Lee’s trial, the court was told that he had hatched his plot for more than two years, after falling S$200,000 in hock.

Lee, a former salesman, decided that kidnapping was how he, his mother and his partner Heng Chen Boon, 51, could be better off financially. 

After scoping out several potential targets that he culled from Forbes magazine’s “Singapore’s Richest” list, Lee settled on Sheng Siong boss Lim Hock Chee, whom he learnt was worth around S$500 million.

He spent months on reconnaissance and, on the morning of the kidnapping, approached Mr Lim’s mother at an overhead bridge along Hougang Avenue 2 and lied to her that Mr Lim had fallen in the office. The elderly woman was duped and ended up being driven around blindfolded by Lee.

Lee asked Heng to meet him at Punggol End later. When he asked Lee who Mdm Ng was, Heng was told not to ask questions. Later that night, Lee confessed to Heng that he had abducted Mdm Ng. Mr Lim made the ransom drop at Sembawang Park but the police nabbed Lee and Heng before they could get to the money.

Heng was sentenced to three years’ jail last year after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of helping Lee to abduct Mdm Ng. He was released from prison in January this year on remission.

At the trial, Lee’s lawyers argued that he was not guilty of kidnapping even though he had abducted Mdm Ng because he had intended to let her go regardless of whether he got the ransom.

Dismissing this argument on Thursday, Justice Chan said the Kidnapping Act was legislated to “cast a wide net” to penalise the actions of abductors who place their victims and the victims’ family members in fear. No distinction should be drawn in cases where abductors intend to release their victims even without their desired payoff, he added.

“In both types of cases the victims and their families will undoubtedly experience fear and apprehension ... Parliament adopted an unambiguous and unwavering position that such acts had to be deterred,” Justice Chan said.

There is nothing to suggest that those who “deliberately choose to abduct innocent victims and essentially gamble on whether they receive the ransom demanded” should escape criminal responsibility, the judge added.

Speaking to TODAY over the phone after the sentencing, Mr Lim said his family had long gotten over the incident and life had been back to normal for some time now. He thanked the police for their assistance and members of the public for their concern for the case. 

Mr Lim also said he does not intend to personally inform his mother about the sentencing, saying he expects her to find out from her friends.