Father fatally stabbed intellectually disabled daughter, jumped to his death: Coroner’s inquiry

SINGAPORE — Mr Tang Soh Ha fatally stabbed his 27-year-old intellectually disabled daughter last year, before jumping to his death from the eighth storey of the Pasir Ris block that they lived at, a coroner’s inquiry found on Friday (Sept 7).

The 69-year-old had suffered from insomnia and depression, which led to suicidal thoughts. He would “lie awake worrying about Ms Tang (Hui Yee)’s future”, noted State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam.

“Regrettably, Mr Tang had seemingly decided that the joint demise of both him and his daughter was the solution to his concerns for his daughter’s welfare,” she added.

On Aug 20 last year, tragedy struck when Mr Tang was found dead at the foot of Block 560, Pasir Ris Street 51.

When police arrived on the scene, they managed to contact Mr Tang’s son and wife, Mdm Yeo, using the phone found in his pocket. Mr Tang, Mdm Yeo and their three children, as well as their elder daughter’s husband and two children all lived in their second-storey flat.

Police later found Ms Tang lying face down in the kitchen, with deep wounds at the back of her neck and another deep cut under her chin. A paramedic pronounced her dead on the spot.

Police also found a kitchen knife with a 13cm-long blade in the kitchen sink.

State Coroner Kamala said that evidence pointed towards Mr Tang striking his daughter from behind, on the neck, chest and head area with the knife.

The court also heard that Ms Tang had autism and moderate intellectual disability since young, and was periodically aggressive and erratic. She was then enrolled at the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds).

When Ms Tang was referred to the Institute of Mental Health in 2014, Minds staff and her family struggled with her repeated demands to go to the toilet even when she did not need to. She would throw items, hit and push others.

Her behaviour had improved after she was put on medication. However, five days before the fatal incident, a review at IMH found that she had relapsed over the last few months.

Mr Tang, her primary caregiver at home, said he had become physically weaker in recent weeks and could not attend to her as frequently.

He had fallen ill about two weeks before the incident. He told his son that whenever he closed his eyes, he would think about suicide. He also cut down on his daily swimming sessions.

After getting referred to IMH, he was able to sleep at times after taking sleeping pills. However, Mr Tang’s son said he would complain that he felt tired easily, made remarks about burdening his family, and questioned if anyone could take care of Ms Tang if he was not around.

State Coroner Kamala said: “His main complaint (at IMH) was poor sleep over the preceding week, and feeling low in mood as a result with fleeting passive suicidal thoughts of dying by jumping from height. He reported that his sleep was interrupted and he would have difficulty falling back to sleep.”

Mr Tang also had a history of bipolar disorder and depression.

Neighbours told TODAY last year that the father and daughter had a strong relationship. Recounting how Ms Tang would frequently wander around the void deck, one neighbour said that she was “a pleasant, quiet girl” who “never disturbed anyone, or anything”.

“The father really sayang (Malay for love) his daughter,” she added.