It was a case of jealousy and infidelity that ultimately caused this 57-year-old Singaporean man to receive a life imprisonment sentence. Chia Kee Chen was initially found guilty of murder in January but the judge had not decided whether he should be given the death penalty or lifetime imprisonment.
A recap of the case: Chia had abducted his wife’s former lover, material analyst Dexmon Chua Yizhi, 37, into the back of a van and fatally assaulted him between 28 and 29 December 2013. He was assisted by two accomplices, 33-year-old Indonesian Febri Irwansyah Djatmiko, who has since fled the country, and Chua Leong Aik, 67, who is currently serving a five-year term for driving the van.
In a hearing last month, the prosecutors pushed for a death penalty for Chia as they said that the killing was “savage” and “cruel”. Chia had discovered that his wife was having an extramarital affair back in November 2012, and he had harassed Chua by stalking him and threatening him. His wife had reportedly ended the affair in May 2012.
It got so bad to a point where Chua even lodged several police reports against him. On the day of the murder, Today Online reported that Chia had attended a wedding lunch with his family and even took a nap before proceeding with his evil plan.
Along with his accomplices, he took the borrowed van and they went to a car park at Choa Chu Kang to wait for the deceased to appear. When he did, they proceeded to tie him up before throwing him in the back of the van to teach him a lesson.
They had also beaten him up so severely that almost every bone in the victim’s face was broken. OMFG!
Chua succumbed to his head injuries and died, which resulted in his body being dumped at a military live-firing area in Lim Chu Kang. He calmly cleaned the van and when he returned, Chia coolly went for a holiday in Malaysia with his family.
The judge decided not to sentence him to the gallows due to the discrepancies in statements from Chia and Febri. Chia’s defense lawyers also said that he did not intend to kill the victim, but only wanted to “teach him a lesson” and obtain compromising footage of his wife having sex.
Now, he’s got to spend his whole life in jail for this cold-blooded crime.
Also read: Singaporean Man Kills Customer After Heated Dispute Over “Self-Service” Policy