SINGAPORE — Having delusional thoughts that his family “might want to kill him”, a 69-year-old technician lashed out at his wife of 36 years, stabbing and hacking her to death, inflicting a total of 189 injuries on her body.

In the High Court on Friday (Sept 8), Kong Peng Yee pleaded guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing the death of 63-year-old Wong Chik Yeok on March 13 last year.

The couple have two daughters, aged 36 and 27.

Kong’s charge was reduced from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder after a psychiatric assessment found that he suffered from psychotic delusions, which significantly affected his mental responsibility for his actions.

The delusions, a report said, could have originated from the severe depression he sank into from the mild physical impairments, such as constipation and insomnia that he suffered after a cataract surgery two months before he killed his wife.

Despite seeking medical attention for those ailments, the court was told that Kong refused to take any medication. For instance, he declined to take laxatives, believing that it was “poisonous”.

When his wife and younger daughter gave him prune juice as a remedy for constipation, he thought they were trying to “torture” him.

According to court documents, Kong exhibited strange behaviour on March 12, the day before he killed his wife.

He appeared troubled and told his older daughter to care for her sister “if he was not around”.

He also told his eldest that she was not his daughter, although court papers did not state whether this was true.

The following day, Kong said strange things when he went to a church with his older daughter. He told a pastor out of the blue that “God wanted me to return daughter to the rightful parent”. During a sermon, he told a stranger sitting beside him that “people were poisoning (me)”.

After the church service, Kong’s daughter drove him and his wife back to their Compassvale Crescent flat, then left to pick up her sister.

Back home, Kong went to take a nap while his wife relaxed in the living room.

He claimed to have heard “some roaring sounds” that woke him up. He went to the kitchen, took a knife and stabbed his wife from behind while she was folding clothes. He then moved to the front and repeatedly stabbed her.

A struggle with his wife ensued, causing Kong to drop the knife. But he went back to the kitchen to retrieve a chopper and started hacking his wife. Court documents said that his mind told Kong to “make sure she dies”, and upon realising that his wife was dead, he felt “happy” and stopped the attack.

After failing to reach his youngest daughter, Kong called his sister informing her that he had killed his wife. He also told his sister to call the police, and to distribute his money to his daughters.

Realising that she had missed her father’s call, Kong’s youngest daughter called him back, only for her to hear Kong saying that “I killed mommy”.

When she dismissed his remarks, Kong responded with the words “already killed”.

Upon hearing what Kong said, his older daughter, who was with her sister, then phoned the police.

At about 5pm, both sisters and the police went up to the flat, only to found Kong sitting on the sofa with his clothes drenched in blood. Their mother lay motionless in a pool of blood next to the sofa.

An autopsy found that Kong’s wife had died due to haemorrhage caused by multiple wounds to her face and head, including the scalp.

Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist Dr Kenneth Koh said in his report on April 11, 2016, that while Kong had suffered psychotic delusions, he was not of unsound mind at the time of incident.

In an updated report a month later, Dr Koh noted that Kong no longer suffered from delusions as he had been on medication since his remand, and concluded that the accused had a “brief psychotic episode” when he carried out the attack.

Calling for Kong to be given nine years’ imprisonment, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Shi described the attack on his wife as “vicious and unrelenting”. She added that Kong was aware that his actions were “wrongful”, but chose to consciously commit the offence.

Although she acknowledged that Kong had a brief psychotic episode, Ms Shi pointed out that while “sympathy can be added, justice cannot be subtracted”.

Saying that Kong had no history of physical abuse or violence, his lawyer Sunil Sudheesan noted that Kong’s mental health — which deteriorated after his eye operation — had directly led to his actions.

Asking for a five-year jail sentence instead, Mr Sunil said that Kong is “wrought with sorrow and remorse” that he had killed his wife in a psychotic episode.

Sentencing was adjourned to an unspecified date as Justice Choo Han Teck said he had some additional questions for Dr Koh.

For his offence, Kong could be jailed up to 20 years and fined. He will not be caned as he is above 50 years old.