More stuff from Bedok Reservoir....
A guy mudered a woman and seriously injured another man in a flat
there on the grounds that she was possessed by a ghost and he kept
hearing voices to kill them both!
I bring you the condensed version of the charge order...
Read on...
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
Vs
CHUA HWA SOON JIMMY
"The accused was tried on the following two charges:
First Charge :that you, on or about the 26 August 1996, sometime
between 12 noon to about 1.20 pm, at Block 120 Bedok
Reservoir Road
#------(not to be revealed),
Singapore, did commit murder by causing the death of one Neo Lam
Lye and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under
section 302 of the Penal Code...."
Autopsy report:
"Dr Paul Chui, the forensic pathologist, gave evidence at the trial
to elaborate on the autopsy report. There were a total of 109
injuries on the deceased. Dr Chui referred in particular to the
injuries on the face of the deceased. He said that the injuries
were arranged in a vertical fashion. They were fairly regularly
placed apart and parallel, suggesting that the deceased would have
been immobile when the injuries were inflicted. This is because a
conscious person aware that a knife was coming towards him would
move his face and the wounds inflicted could not have been so
regular. The same could be said of the injuries to the deceaseds
shoulder and arms."
The accused tells his part of the story:
"in the kitchen, when the deceased said what she said, on the one
hand I was feeling tired and on the other hand I was feeling angry
as if I was on fire as a result of her nagging. After I had drunk
the cup of honey drink, I sensed that somebody was behind me. I
turned around and saw the deceased. But her look was terrifying.
Her eyes were swollen and red and she looked pale. She wanted to
stab me with a knife. I then used my my right hand to catch hold of
the knife. I thought she had been possessed. She looked like a
ghost. I then beat her up and she retreated to the master bedroom.
I continued to beat her. But she never seemed to lose her
consciousness. She kept smiling at me. I hit her nose. Her nose
bled profusely. I then punched her cheek repeatedly. I did not know
how many punches I delivered. But there were many blows. But it
seemed to me that she never lost her consciousness. And all of a
sudden she fainted. I was surprised that she fainted so fast so I
quickly searched for a rope. I went to the kitchen. I thought she
was possessed and with the rope I could tie her up so that my
parents could seek the advice of the deity. I did not find a rope.
I then proceeded to the hall to continue with the search. I saw a
multi-purpose plug near where the telephone was in the hall. I
wanted to pull out the plug but was afraid that I might get
electrocuted as I did not know where those plugs were connected to.
Then I saw the telephone cord. So I picked up the telephone cord
intending to take it to the master bedroom. Just as I was entering
the doorway of the master bedroom I felt someone tapping my right
shoulder. When I turned around I saw a flash of light. I heard a
voice telling me Dont let her get up. Then I put the cord round
her neck to the front part of the body. And then I pulled the cord
with great force and swung her into the toilet (witness
demonstrates). At that time the deceased was still on the floor
trying to stand up. She was holding on to the window grill in order
to stand up. When she was in the toilet, I saw her smiling at me in
a very strange manner. It was very frightening. And then the voice
told me to chop her. I kept hearing the voice. So I took a chopper
and chopped her. When she was smiling in the toilet she was on the
floor lying down. I simply took the chopper. I do not know how many
times I chopped her. I felt as if I was on fire. I held the chopper
in the manner I just demonstrated. And I chopped her. I was seated
on the seat of the toilet bowl. As I chopped her I made the sound
of "erh erh". I felt that I was all alone in this world and was in
a state of darkness. I felt that there was fire within me. And when
I uttered "erh" it helped to dissipate the heat and fire in my
body. When I was chopping I heard a voice "chop her, chop
her".
Possesion? 
Did a ghost really enter the deceased's body?
What was the voice that keep telling the accused to kill her?
The acused then answers some questions posed by the
prosecuter...
"Q: At that time did you know what you were doing:
A: I was killing a ghost.I saw her smiling at me in a frightening
manner. I did not know whether there was some kind of illusion or
whether I actually saw the smile. Then I held the knife and struck
at her as I demonstrated. When I was stabbing her there was voice
telling me to stab her."
"Q: Who were you stabbing?
A: I dont know what I was doing.
I was trying to to dissipate the heat and fire in my body and I was
suffering. I felt as if I was in a desert. Then I got out of the
master bedroom. I was feeling very hot. So I took out my shirt and
slung it over my right shoulder. I did not know what I was doing. I
walked into the kitchen and hall repeatedly. And then I went back
to the kitchen and to the master bedroom. From the master bedroom I
went back to the hall. Then I saw Garret smiling at me. He was in
the hall. He did not look like the Garret I knew. He looked like a
little ghost to me and his appearance was similar to that of the
deceased when I was chopping her. Then the voice told me not to let
him off and to catch hold of him. I then returned to the master
bedroom toilet to take the chopper. I took the chopper and went
back to the hall. Garret gave me a frightening smile. I squatted
down and I chopped him."
"On this defence, Dr R Nagulendran, a well known consultant
psychiatrist, gave evidence for the accused. He saw the accused at
Queenstown Remand Prison on 9, 11 and 13 of December 1996. He also
interviewed members of his family, the father, siblings and the
wife. In his Report, Dr Nagulendran has noted that "there is no
known history of medical illness in [accuseds] family".
23. As to the present mental state of the accused, Dr Nagulendran
found that the accused "was rational and relevant in his speech. He
did not show any thought disorder and did not express any delusion
or hallucination. His mood was appropriate to his thought content.
He was correctly orientated to time, place and person. His
attention and concentration were normal. He had amnesia for
portions of the alleged offences. There was no evidence of
intellectual deterioration."
The prosecuter makes his final decision...
"I found the accused guilty on the two charges, the murder of the
deceased and attempted murder of Garret Chua. He was convicted and
sentenced to death."
Possesion? Or hallucinations caused by ghosts??
