A man who murdered his pregnant wife and their young child and then slept with their bodies for a week has been sentenced to death in Singapore. Teo Ghim Heng, 45, is said to have strangled Choong Pei Shan, 39, after they got into a fight about money. According to The Mirror, Channel News Asia reports that Heng then ended the life of Zi Ning, the couple’s young daughter who cried while her mother was being murdered. Shan was six months pregnant at the time of the killing.
- Heng claimed he planned to kill himself as well. Heng told the court that he planned to kill himself as well to “reunite the family” but that his multiple attempts to end his own life had failed. He even set the bodies on fire and planned to lay down beside them but he “chickened out” because of the heat.
- His brother-in-law discovered the bodies. When Shan didn’t attend the Chinese New Year celebrations as usual and failed to respond to his calls and texts, her brother visited the address to see if she was okay. Because he couldn’t get into the property, he called the police, only for Heng to admit outright that his wife and child were dead.
- The couple had begun having money issues. While Heng used to make a pretty good living as a property agent, but recently had begun having financial issues that caused regular arguments. Not only that, but he apparently found Shan with another man in October 2014 and therefore believed his daughter might not be his.
- Heng was found guilty on two counts of murder. While he tried to lie to the court and psychiatrists to be found not guilty by diminished responsibility, they weren’t buying it. His defense wanted a verdict of culpable homicide but again, the judge knew better. Heng was sentenced to death, the highest penalty for murder, on November 12. His defense team plans to appeal the conviction.
