Man Gets 19 Years’ Jail, Caning for Beach Road Cleaver Attack That Left Wife Permanently Disabled

A 49-year-old man who brutally attacked his wife with a cleaver outside a Beach Road restaurant received 19 years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane on 3 Jun 2025.

Cheng Guoyuan pleaded guilty on 20 May to attempted murder over the vicious assault that occurred at about 5:30pm on 14 Apr 2022.

Justice Audrey Lim also took into consideration two charges of intimidating bystanders with the cleaver when sentencing him.

Premeditated Attack Stemmed from Family Wrongdoing

Cheng admitted he intended to kill Ms Han Hongli, 44, if she refused to assure him she would not expose a wrongdoing he had committed against her 23-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

The nature of the wrongdoing was not disclosed in court.

Ms Han discovered Cheng’s wrongdoing against her 23-year-old daughter in Apr 2021. She threatened to report the matter to Chinese police, but Cheng pleaded with her not to do so.

The victim told Cheng she would not forgive him and would let everyone know what he had done. She eventually agreed for Cheng to pay their daughter 40,000 yuan (~SGD7,200) as compensation.

Cheng remained fearful that Ms Han would tell his relatives and friends about the wrongdoing. He repeatedly sought assurances from her that she would let the matter rest.

The couple, both Chinese nationals married in 2009, had a strained relationship. Ms Han came to Singapore to work in 2016 and would remit money home. Cheng felt Ms Han looked down on him for earning less than her.

In Sep 2021, Cheng came to Singapore to work as a cleaner. Ms Han did not know he was in Singapore, and was shocked when he turned up at her workplace in Nov that year.

Later that month, Cheng threatened to kill Ms Han and not let her live in peace if she did not reconcile with him. Ms Han reported these threats on 28 Nov 2021, and police investigated Cheng and warned him not to look for her.

Cheng returned to China in Jan 2022. In Apr that year, he found work at a restaurant and returned to Singapore.

Cheng came to Singapore on 6 Apr 2022 to work as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant in Veerasamy Road without telling Ms Han. She was working as a manager at a steamboat restaurant in Beach Road at the time.

On 12 Apr 2022, Cheng concluded he might end up with nothing if Ms Han revealed the wrongdoing to anyone. He came up with a plan to hack her to death with a cleaver if she refused to confirm she would not reveal his wrongdoing.

Justice Lim found that Cheng’s acts showed premeditation. He took a cleaver from his workplace and drafted WeChat notes to justify the killing, which he meant to be read if he died together with his wife.

Brutal Beach Road Attack Left Victim Permanently Disabled

After two aborted attempts, Cheng went to Ms Han’s workplace on 14 Apr 2022, armed with a wooden-handled cleaver he took from work.

At about 5:20pm, he arrived at the restaurant where Ms Han worked. She was shocked to see him and asked him to go to a back lane where they could speak.

Based on Ms Han’s attitude and responses, Cheng felt she could not be trusted to keep the wrongdoing a secret. He became very angry as he felt she was not going to give him a chance even though he had already compensated their daughter.

Pulling out the cleaver from his bag, he told her: “If I am not living well, you should not think about living.”

Cheng started slashing her in the back lane between Liang Seah Street and Middle Road. Ms Han’s left hand was almost severed as she tried to block the blows with her arms while screaming for help.

When the cleaver handle broke off, he pressed the blade against her neck as she lay on the ground. Ms Han managed to run away when Cheng was distracted by other people.

He then went into the kitchen of her workplace to grab a steel-handled cleaver before running out to look for her. He caught up with Ms Han after she tripped and fell near a car parked in front of a hotel, and continued slashing her.

Multiple bystanders tried to intervene by throwing objects including chairs, dustbins and signboards at Cheng to fend him off. He ran towards Beach Road but soon returned for the victim.

Cheng did not stop despite people intervening and throwing objects at him to keep him away from the victim. He repeatedly slashed at Ms Han’s head.

During the attack, Cheng cut his own wrists and neck with the weapons. He was eventually tasered by a police officer at Ms Han’s workplace after ignoring repeated instructions to surrender.

Videos of the horrific attack were widely shared on social media and in message groups in 2022. The prosecution argued that public disquiet caused by Cheng’s violence was amplified because the incident received significant public attention.

Ms Han suffered severe blood loss and took 1.5 years to recover and adjust to her life-threatening injuries. She is now blind in her left eye and her face is permanently disfigured.

The functioning of her arms is permanently impaired. The tip of her right ring finger was amputated. She also suffered deep lacerations across her body and open fractures.

Court Rejects Life Imprisonment Despite Prosecution’s Appeal

The prosecution sought life imprisonment and eight to 12 strokes of the cane for Cheng. The defence asked for 15 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.

Justice Lim rejected the prosecution’s submission for Cheng to be jailed for life. She found that while the case was serious, it did not fall within the worst type of such cases and hence did not warrant the maximum sentence.

The judge said Cheng’s relentlessness in pursuing the victim to inflict injuries and even looking for a second cleaver aggravated his crime. She noted the “extremely vicious and cruel” nature of Cheng’s attack.

However, she agreed with the prosecution that Cheng’s attack was premeditated and committed out of malice.

A psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health found that Cheng was likely motivated by vengeance. He believed his reputation and his family’s reputation were more important than his life, and would rather die than lose face.

Cheng, who followed proceedings through a Mandarin interpreter, kept his head bowed as the judge read out her decision.

According to a psychiatric assessment in 2022, Cheng would need to be closely monitored in prison as he was at risk of developing an adjustment disorder due to concerns about receiving a severe penalty.