Wanting to put an end to years of physical and mental torment inflicted by his father, a 19-year-old Singaporean man resorted to murder as a way out.
In the midst of the tragedy however, he heard his father telling him how much he loved him and begging for forgiveness before breathing his last.
Rocky relationship between victim & 19yo son he abused for years
According to court documents, it stated that Seah Jie Kai Sylesnar, his siblings, and mother endured verbal abuse at the hands of his father, particularly when he was intoxicated.
Aside from that, Seah’s father often caned, hurled books, and broke plastic balls on the heads of his three children.
Being the youngest in the family, Seah was often told by his father to “be a man, not a girl” and wasn’t allowed to shed tears whenever he was punished, which caused him not to publicly display any emotion.
Seah also avoided being at home whenever possible as he didn’t feel safe being there, reported CNA.
Feared father would kill him
In October 2022, Seah got into an argument with his father, where the latter called him a slur for a transvestite and taunted him by daring him “to chop someone with a knife”.
Filled with anger and humiliation, Seah grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed his father twice in the living room, resulting in a wound across his chest.
Following the attack, Seah began to fear that his father would kill him and decided to be the one to end things first by arming himself with two knives.
On Oct 10, Seah approached his father near a lift and slashed him repeatedly across the neck and head in hopes of decapitating him.
His father tried to block some of the blows with his hands and tussled with Seah, where he pushed Seah towards the staircase.
Seah’s father then walked towards the fourth floor and fell to the ground at a neighbour’s unit, prompting Seah to yell for someone to contact the police.
‘I’m sorry. I love you. Please forgive me’
According to Seah’s defence lawyers, Seah became “overwhelmed” as he watched his father die and told the latter that he hated him deeply, to which his father responded with these words:
I’m sorry. I love you. Please forgive me.”
Seah then asked his father to kill him, but when his father made no movement, he brought the knife to his own neck. His dying father then reportedly told him, “Don’t do it, it isn’t worth it.”
An autopsy later found that Seah’s father had suffered 24 wounds to his body, where his death was caused by bleeding from the neck.
An assessment by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) later found that Seah was suffering from “chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood” and “other specified depressive disorder” when he killed his father.
As such, he was unable to grasp the wrongfulness of his actions and control them.
Jailed for 6 years
In court, the prosecution asked for Seah, who is now 21 years old, to be sentenced to between seven to 12 years in jail, while his defence lawyers asked for not more than five years.
Eventually, Seah was sentenced to six years’ jail for a reduced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Justice Dedar Singh Gill said the sentence had taken into account Seah’s age, the medical evidence on his mental condition, and his remorse which has resulted in a timely plea of guilt.
He also noted that Seah was unlikely to reoffend before adding that the case was “tragic”.
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