Man charged over murders

Gruesome case: Teo slept on the same bed as the bodies for one week in his Woodlands flat. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network

SINGAPORE: One week before Chinese New Year in 2017, debt-ridden property agent Teo Ghim Heng strangled his wife, who was six months pregnant, and their four-year-old daughter.

He slept on the same bed as the bodies for one week in his Wood­lands flat, with the air-conditioner turned on to delay the decomposition process.

He searched online for ways to commit suicide, leaving the flat only to buy food and air freshener.

He then set the bodies on fire, claiming that he had also tried to kill himself in the blaze but aborted his attempt as it was too hot.

He gave excuses when his wife’s family asked about her whereabouts and they eventually called the police on the first day of Chinese New Year.

The details surrounding the deaths of Teo’s wife Choong Pei Shan, 39, her daughter Zi Ning, and unborn son emerged yesterday as prosecutors set out their case against him for a double-murder on the first day of his trial.

Teo, 43, is charged with two counts of murder for killing his wife and daughter on Jan 20, 2017, with the intention of causing death, which carries the mandatory death penalty.

A third charge of killing his unborn son has been stood down for now.

The High Court heard that Teo was an avid gambler who racked up debts of at least S$120,000 (RM365,900) at the end of 2016, but kept his wife in the dark about the extent of his debts.

He listed the flat for sale and took on another job as a sales coordinator.

“The accused felt that Choong should have contributed to the household income by working.

“He also never fully forgave her for an affair she had a few years back, and strongly suspected that Zi Ning was not his biological daughter,” said deputy public prosecutor Han Ming Kuang.

According to Teo’s statements to the police, he and Choong, a housewife, had an argument on Jan 18, 2017, about his financial problems.

He told her he had a debt of S$70,000 (RM213,450) and could not pay their daughter’s school fees.

Two days later, the couple argued about money again in the master bedroom.

Teo told police that he looped a towel around Choong’s neck and pulled both ends for about 15 minutes, and then strangled her until she stopped breathing.

He then did the same to his daughter.

Teo claimed he tried to take his own life after setting fire to the two bodies by lying on the bed next to them.

On Jan 23, three days after the killings, three of Teo’s colleagues went to his flat to look for him as he had not shown up for work, but Teo refused to leave.

He also repeatedly lied to his and his wife’s families to explain their absence at Chinese New Year gatherings, saying that Choong was ill and using her phone to communicate with her family members and Zi Ning’s teachers.

On Jan 28, the first day of Chinese New Year, Choong’s brother came knocking at the door but got no response.

That same day, Teo used a payphone at the void deck to call his mother-in-law and mother, lying that his wife had kicked him out of the flat, deputy public prosecutor Dillon Kok told the court.

Choong’s family was suspicious and returned to the flat.

Upon detecting a pungent odour coming from inside, they called the police. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network