When I Was Young

ATTEMPTED MURDER

Spurned man strangled, hacked at and tried to throw lover to her death

Teo Xuanwei

xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg

BECAUSE of disagreements over their relationship and money matters, Diong Tiong Ngo's lover wanted to leave him.

The spat instead led to a chain of violent events that saw the 52-year-old strangle his lover, and hack at her with a chopper before hurling her down from outside her third-storey Ang Mo Kio flat.

Diong also slashed the woman's 14-year-old son when he tried to intervene. Fortunately, both mother and son survived the violent attack.

Yesterday, the Malaysian, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was convicted of attempting to murder his 51-year-old lover and causing grievous hurt to the boy on Nov 7 last year.

The victims cannot be identified because of a court order.

The High Court heard yesterday that Diong's extramarital affair with the Indonesian Chinese woman had started in 2006 after she was widowed.

At first, Diong provided for the woman and her children, giving them money and renting a place to stay.

He also made promises to marry her after divorcing his wife.

But trouble started brewing after Diong's coffee shop was repossessed for redevelopment and he could no longer take care of them.

Unhappy with having to work as a cook for others, Diong decided to go into his mistress' business of selling bird's nest products, but then failed to repay her on several occasions.

On Nov 7, things came to a head after Diong again had no money to pay her and she decided to break up with him. Infuriated with her decision, Diong strangled her until the boy rushed out from his room.

When she asked him to leave her flat, he grabbed a chopper, chased her down outside her flat and began hacking at her head.

The boy was also struck by him when he tried to shield his mother from the attack.

With the woman's son looking on, Diong then lifted her by the thighs and proceeded to flip her over the parapet.

She survived the three-storey fall but fractured her spine and legs and had multiple cuts on her head and arms.

After several surgeries, she was discharged from hospital after 18 days. The teen was warded for 15 days for his injuries.

Diong will be sentenced on Sept 29. Both of his offences carry a possible sentence of up to 15 years' imprisonment, fine and caning.

But he will not be caned because he is over 50 years old.

From TODAY, News – Wednesday, 23-Sep-2009