SINGAPORE — A young man was sentenced to six years' jail on Monday (Sept 30) after pleading guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder after stabbing his 47-year-old father to death.

Sylesnar Seah Jie Kai, then 19 years old, had slashed his father with two knives after a heated argument at home in 2022.

Fearing his father would kill him after he had initially stabbed the older man twice, Seah chased after his father and killed him by repeating slashing at his neck and head.

Seah later told police that he had been trying to decapitate his father because he believed that this would result in a quick death, which was what he wanted for the older man.

The court also heard on Monday that at the time of the offence, the teenager suffered from two psychiatric illnesses — chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood and a depressive disorder.

Seah was charged in 2022 with murder, but the charge was later reduced.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that the offender was the youngest of three children and lived with his older sister, mother and father at Block 653 Yishun Avenue 4 on the fifth floor.

Seah's father, 47-year-old Eddie Seah Wee Teck, had a strained relationship with his wife and children. He was verbally abusive towards them.

"The deceased drank alcohol on a regular basis and, when intoxicated, often verbally abused his wife and the accused. He also physically abused his children when they were younger," court documents stated.

The court heard that on Oct 10, 2022 at about 6pm, the offender had returned home and headed for a shower. His mother left the flat to visit her parents and care for her father, while his father was drinking alcohol.

After the offender finished his shower, his father asked him to call his mother to ask her to get back to the flat. The young man said that he would do so after his dinner, but his father insisted that he did that immediately.

An argument broke out with Eddie Seah taunting his son, calling him a coward among other things. He also told his son in Mandarin: "Do you dare to chop someone with a knife?"

Feeling angry and humiliated by his father's taunts, the teenager took a kitchen knife and slashed his father twice on his right chest in the living room.

He then returned to his bedroom, while his father left the flat.

Court documents stated that the teenager became afraid that if he did not kill his father, the older man would kill him the next day. So he went back to the kitchen and took two knives.

"The accused decided that he needed to arm himself with two knives in order to overcome the deceased, who used to be involved in gang fights in his younger days." 

The teenager then left the flat to look for his father and spotted him walking towards the fifth-floor lift lobby of the housing block. There, he slashed his father's head and neck multiple times.

Eddie Seah pushed his son towards the staircase, where they fought over the knives.

Managing to grab hold of one of the knives, Eddie Seah headed to the fourth floor and approached his neighbour's flat. However, he collapsed shortly after that.

The son then shouted for someone to call the police, before laying down on the floor to wait for the paramedics and police.

PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS

When police officers arrived at the scene at 7.16pm, the son told them that he had killed his father. He was immediately arrested. 

He also said in police statements that he aimed the attacks at Eddie Seah's neck because he thought that "decapitation was one of the most instantaneous ways to die... which was what (he) wanted for (his) father".

An autopsy found the cause of death to be a haemorrhage due to an incised wound to the neck. The man had at least 24 incised wounds on his head, neck, chest and abdomen, back and limbs.

His son was assessed by the Institute of Mental Health in October and November 2022, where he was diagnosed with chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood and another specified depressive disorder.

A doctor from the institute found that although the teenager was not of unsound mind, the other depressive disorder had "reduced his capacity to know the wrongfulness of his acts and his capacity to control his actions".

In another report earlier this year, this depressive disorder was found to be in remission. His risk of reoffending was also found to be low.

REMORSE

Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Derek Ee and Jordy Kay told the court that people cannot take justice into their own hands, even if they find themselves in "unfortunate situations" like the offender's, CNA news channel reported.

The prosecution had sought a jail term of seven to 12 years.

"We accept it was a terrible situation for the accused to be in, but even if one finds themselves in that situation ... (with) a significant source of stress at home, violence by taking that person's life is not the answer and it's not justified," DPP Ee said. 

He also told the court that despite Sylesnar Seah's young age and mental disorder, he must "bear the consequences of his actions".

Defence lawyers Joyce Khoo and Sunil Suheesan from Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC pleaded for leniency and sought a jail term of not more than five years.

"Our client had a troubled childhood where he, his elder siblings and his mother shared a tumultuous relationship with his father," they said.

They also highlighted several instances where the father had acted up, including having fights with the mother and several instances where the man had displayed misogyny (contempt for women) and directed verbal abuse at the family.

Eddie Seah would also boast about being a gang member and would laugh if he upset his children, the lawyer added.

"This unfortunate tragedy was driven by a well of preexisting unhappiness within the family stemming from our client's father," Mr Sunil said.

"This came to an unfortunate conclusion when our client's father's behaviour triggered an uncharacteristic response from our client, which owed a large part to our client's mental illnesses."

The lawyers said that the teenager is remorseful for his actions.

They also said that Sylesnar Seah had felt "overwhelmed" when his father collapsed, and told his father that he "hated (him) for a while".

In response, the older man said: "I'm sorry. I love you. Please forgive me." This irritated and upset the youth, they added.

Sylesnar Seah tried to kill himself and put a knife on his own neck, but his father told him not to do it.

Anyone found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder face life imprisonment and caning, or jail for up to 20 years, a fine or caning.