The teenage son of a woman who was battered and stabbed to death by her second husband is seeking to block her killer from inheriting his share of the woman’s estate.
The 16-year-old is the legal son of the killer, Paul Leslie Quirk, who adopted the boy after marrying the teen’s mother, Christina Khoo Gek Hwa, in 2017.
Quirk, 50, was sentenced to 10 years’ jail last year after he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide for killing Khoo at their Sengkang condominium on Jan 3, 2020.
The Australian suffered a relapse of schizophrenia after reducing his intake of prescribed medicine and attacked Khoo, believing that she was a demon.
Court documents showed that the boy, who is suing through a litigation representative as he is a minor, filed an application in the High Court in March this year.
According to the application, Khoo died without a will.
Under intestacy laws, Khoo’s son and Quirk would each be entitled to one-half of her estate.
In the application, the boy sought to disqualify Quirk from inheriting his entitlement on the grounds that he should not benefit from his own wrongdoing.
The teenager also asked the court to allow him to inherit Khoo’s entire estate. The value of the estate is not specified in the application.
Court records also show that the application was served on Quirk at Changi Prison on April 4. — The Straits Times/ANN