SINGAPORE — He loitered around the Woodlands housing estate, following girls he found attractive and imagining touching their breasts and stabbing them in the back. Before he fatally knifed a mother of two on a Mid-Autumn Festival night three years ago, Soh Wee Kian had spent the afternoon following several women for short distances.

Details of Soh’s actions on Sept 22, 2010, emerged yesterday in the High Court as he was convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder of Hoe Hong Lin, and one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to another woman, Ms How Poh Ling, earlier in May. Soh did not know either woman.

The court heard that Soh had a plastic glove and knife with him when he left his Woodlands flat between 2pm and 3pm on Sept 22. At around 8pm, Soh — who was then 20 and a National Serviceman — began walking around Mandai Tekong Park.

At about 10.30pm, he spotted Hoe walking towards the park. The 32-year-old Singapore permanent resident was walking back to rejoin her family after dropping off two of her nephews at a traffic junction nearby.

Soh came up from behind, covered Hoe’s mouth to stop her from screaming and stabbed her in the right of her lower back. Soh, who was wearing the plastic glove, stabbed her several more times as she lay dying. Hoe was dead by the time paramedics arrived at the scene near Block 895C, Woodlands Drive 50.

His other victim, Ms How, who was stabbed at the void deck of Block 588B Montreal Drive, still suffers psychological trauma, the prosecution said yesterday.

Soh was found by Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist Jerome Goh to be “not of unsound mind” at the time of the offences and fit to plead in a court of law.

Soh, who faces life imprisonment and caning, will be sentenced tomorrow. His father, Mr Soh Piah Sing, who was in court yesterday, told reporters when approached that he did not expect forgiveness from the victims’ families.

Hoe’s husband, Mr Ng Kak Joo, was also present. He appeared emotional after the hearing and asked to be left alone.