Woodlands double murder: ‘Look at how useless your father is’ — victim’s last words before husband strangled her

SINGAPORE — For several months, Teo Ghim Heng was late with his four-year-old daughter’s kindergarten fees. The situation worsened to the point where he owed the centre — Little Tree House preschool at Sembawang — two months of fees, amounting to S$1,700.

The issue had strained relations between Teo and his pregnant wife, Choong Pei Shan, and things came to a head on Jan 20, 2017 when he stopped his daughter from going to the preschool.

This led to a heated argument with his wife which ended in a tragedy.

Teo, 43, who is on trial for strangling his wife and daughter to death, had recounted to the police what happened in the lead-up to the killings.

On Wednesday (July 3), the second day of the trial, the court heard that Teo had said in a police statement that his wife — who was six months pregnant — began scolding him, after he told her why their daughter was not going to the centre that day: He did not have money to pay her fees, and it would be “very embarrassing” if she was asked to leave school.

“Other families can take care of three kids, you can’t even provide for a family with one child, you are so useless,” said Choong, according to Teo.

Teo recounted: “My mind tuned out her nagging at this point and it started to draw a blank… As she nagged, I remember the anger building up inside me slowly. The last thing I recall her saying in Mandarin was: ‘(Child), look at how useless your father is.’”

Teo’s recollection of the argument in his statement to the police was read out by his lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam during cross-examination of Choong’s brother, Mr Choong Mun Shen.

Mr Choong agreed with Mr Thuraisingam’s assertion that it was “very unusual” for his sister to utter these words, as she was “soft-spoken”.

Teo has admitted to killing his wife and daughter eight days before he was nabbed in his flat on the first day of Chinese New Year in 2017.

Their charred bodies were discovered on the bed in the master bedroom. The girl cannot be named as she is a minor.

The couple were having financial difficulties and he had taken on an additional job as a sales coordinator, as he was heavily in debt from gambling. 

Under questioning by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ng Jun Chong, Ms Faizahhanim Ahmad — the former principal of the preschool which Teo’s daughter had attended — testified on Wednesday that the girl’s monthly school fees amounted to S$850 after government subsidies.

Teo was late in paying the fees from the middle of 2016 till December that year, when he stopped paying all together.

When DPP Chong asked her to elaborate on the government subsidies, Ms Faizahhanim said that the child was not eligible for additional subsidies as Choong was a housewife.

Working mothers get S$300 in subsidies for kindergarten school fees, while non-working mothers get half of that.

When Mr Thuraisingam objected to this line of questioning, the prosecution told Justice Kannan Ramesh that Teo had given evidence in a police statement about wanting his wife to contribute to the family income, and had also referred to the issue of subsidies.

‘NOW, CNY IS A TORTURE’: VICTIM’S BROTHER

Earlier, an emotional Mr Choong Mun Shen told the court how his family has been affected by the murders.

“Now, Chinese New Year every year to us is a torture… My parents try their best not to talk about it but I know how much they suffer,” he said. “When they see other children at the playground or even outside, I try to bring them away.”

He added that he and his other sister “have no choice but to carry on”, while his mother would ask him every day why his sister was “gone”.

“I do not have an answer for her… I told her I do not know where my late sister and (her daughter) are now, but I believe that both of them are looking down at all of us. They won’t want the both of you to be unhappy, to suffer. But I dare to say one thing — my father and mother are suffering now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Teo’s younger brother, Mr Teo Nam Thia, and mother, Mdm Cheong Goik Keow, testified that they saw his family as a loving one, and were unaware that anything was amiss.

In Mdm Cheong’s statement to the police, which was read out in court on Wednesday, she stated that the girl was “adored by everyone in the family” and was “very cute and outgoing”, performing for the family during Sunday dinners.

Mr Teo said in his statement: “My family, especially my parents, loved her very much. We would be able to take care of her if her parents were not around.”

On the eve of Chinese New Year, Teo told Mdm Cheong that Choong was having severe stomach pains and had to go to the hospital. This was his excuse for not attending their reunion dinner.

He also promised to visit her two days later, though that never materialised.

Teo’s employer, Husniyati Omar, also took the stand on Wednesday and testified to his relationship with his wife and daughter, as well as Teo’s financial difficulties.

Husniyati is currently in jail for cheating homeowners and subcontractors of more than S$1.7 million. She did this while heading Carpentry Design Works with her husband, who is also in prison.

Teo, a former property agent, joined the company in October 2016 on the recommendation of his friend Jordan Lim, who worked as a sales manager there.

During cross-examination by Mr Thuraisingam, Husniyati told the court that she learned that Teo had owed Mr Lim money after she saw them arguing.

From then on, she knew that Teo had problems with his finances. She added that she lent him money and gave him advances on his monthly S$1,500 salary. She also suggested to him that the couple transfer their daughter to a more affordable kindergarten.

“I even had a nice small chat with the wife… From the way I conversed with her, it seems she wants certain certain things (which) she’s used to having, so she doesn’t want to change,” Husniyati added.

She had met the family twice — at Kiddy Palace in Woodlands, and then the next day on Christmas Day in 2016 at her birthday party.

Husniyati said that in her opinion, Teo was “a very doting father” and loved his wife and daughter. He would run after the girl to feed her and also held his wife’s hand, she recounted.

“He had this special request for him to be excused from work from 4.30pm to 6pm every day, Monday to Friday, (so that he could) pick the girl up from school,” Husniyati added. “He would buy dinner, send the girl home and give food to his wife. Then he’d come back to the office and work late, till 9 to 10pm.”

GAMBLING PROBLEMS

Some of Teo’s colleagues divulged more details about his gambling problems, including him placing about S$700 worth of bets in total the week before the murders.

On the stand, Mr Lim said that he would help Teo to place 4D bets at either Singapore Pools or with an illegal bookmaker every week. On Jan 11, 2017, Teo bet S$258, then placed another S$516 worth of bets three days later.

When asked if this was a higher than usual amount, or whether Teo frequently placed such bets, Mr Lim replied that he was not sure but it was “a high bet for a normal person”.

While he was prompt in repaying Mr Lim right after joining Carpentry Design, he “started to drag the payments” later, Mr Lim added.

Mr Dickson Pang, who used to work in the same property firm with Teo, said that they used to play mahjong together a few years before the murders. In a typical session, one would lose a maximum of S$1,000 to S$2,000, he added.

The trial continues on Thursday.