SINGAPORE: The High Court on Friday dismissed the
appeal by the elderly woman who had been sentenced to one-year jail
for poisoning her 73-year-old husband with
arsenic.
Fong Quay Sim, 71, poisoned Mr Chan Tin Sun by
lacing his food with arsenic between 2004 and 2005 in their Siglap
home. Her trial ended in May last year.
In his grounds of decision, Justice Choo Han Teck
said the medical evidence was clear, reasonable, and undisputed.
The damage to Mr Chan was caused by arsenic.
He added that Fong was the only one who had access to Mr Chan's
food and had the motive to poison him.
Justice Choo also noted that Fong had also made incriminating
statements in three statements over two separate occasions.
Justice Choo earlier noted that Fong had questioned the credibility
of the investigating officer who was later charged with using the
police force's computer system to make unauthorised database
searches for his own use.
Justice Choo said he disallowed the evidence regarding this because
it would not have had a significant influence on the outcome of the
appeal.
On whether the sentence was "manifestly excessive", Justice Choo
noted that District Judge Ng Peng Hong had considered Fong's old
age, deep vein thrombosis, hypertension and unhappy marital
life.
However, he noted that Mr Chan had suffered anaemia and liver
cirrhosis from the poisoning.
Justice Choo said: "It was not a one-off incident but was planned
and carried out periodically over a long period of time."
Given that the penalty for the offence is a jail term of up to 10
years and a fine, the one-year sentence was not manifestly
excessive, said Justice Choo.
Fong, who was in court with her son on Friday, asked for a
one-month deferment of her sentence to settle divorce
matters.
Justice Choo granted her request. She will start serving her
sentence next month.
- CNA/ir