Everything About the Case of a Dad Killing His Mentally Ill Daughter in a Bedok HDB Flat

By
Teresa Chia
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It’s 3:43 pm on 20 November 2018. A 64-year-old father has turned himself in after killing his daughter.

Mr Tan Tian Chye is accused of murdering Ms Tan Jiaping Desiree who both lived in Bedok South Road, Block 171. What kind of father would murder his own daughter?

Here’s everything you need to know about this case that has taken Singapore by storm.

Mental Illness And Caretakers

Ms Tan, when she was alive, was a university degree holder. She has difficulties keeping a job after graduation and her parents continued to provide for and care for her.

In 2012, she was diagnosed with agoraphobia and hypochondriacal preoccupations.

Agoraphobia is the fear of situations where escape may be difficult or that help will not be there if something goes wrong. Hypochondria is a mental health disorder that causes one to worry excessively about their health even without any symptoms.

Since Ms Tan was diagnosed, she became very dependent on her parent’s support as she developed a fear of leaving her home. Her boyfriend has also moved into her parent’s flat to stay with her and care for her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bhajanvir Singh reported that she had many demands for her caretakers and boyfriend while she was under their care.

She had also demanded money from her parents to purchase a built-to-order flat with her boyfriend. At that point, she had become very “insistent and abusive”.

Mr Tan took a lot of time off his job to bring his daughter out on outings to help her overcome her anxiety and even bought her boyfriend a second-hand car.

On certain occasions, he even had to slap his own wife to appease Ms Tan. These drove the couple to contemplate suicide.

Many other daily petty things also plagued his life with his daughter.

Not The End

Ms Tan had also forced her brother to return her parents $50,000 that was spent on his education. Mr Tan had to borrow $10,000 from his brother as well. All this money was then given to Ms Tan.

More money problems ensued when she realised that she was not the sole beneficiary of her parents Central Providence Fund. She then got angry and scolded her mother.

To appease her, the couple officially changed their nomination to her name and sent her a photograph as proof.

But the last straw occurred in November 2018.

The Last Straw

While living in the Bedok flat, she had issues with a cigarette smell coming into the house and showed signs of distress. Ms Tan refused to take medication from the Institute of Mental Health “out of self-perceived fears of a psychological dependence on it”.

She was then sent to live with her aunt to escape the smoke smell for a few days. When Mr Tan picked her up on 19 November 2018, she instructed him to cancel and decline all his private bookings to pick her up.

As he was late, he was subjected to nagging and scolding about how he was not a good enough parent to her. She even clenched tightly onto a fork, saying that she wanted to kill him with it.

When they got home, she went into the kitchen and out of fear, Mr Tan armed himself with a metal pole for self-protection in case she tried to do anything.

As expected, she came out with a knife and brandished it at him.

He then hit her with the pole multiple times before taking a cloth to suffocate her by pressing it onto her neck.

He called the police to report himself and waited for them to show up. Ms Tan was pronounced dead by strangulation on the scene.

The Verdict

Mr Tan was remanded for forensic psychiatric assessment and was suffering from a major depressive episode and caregiver stress during the crime, which impaired his mental responsibility for his actions. This qualified Mr Tan for a defence of diminished responsibility.

Judge Hoo Sheau Peng said, “From all accounts, Mr Tan, you have been a selfless, loving and devoted father.”

He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months of jail yesterday (12 Oct).

However, he was released yesterday as well because the judge backdated his sentence to the same day the police first held him in custody, so he has served his sentence in the last 2 years.

This case serves “as a stark reminder about the importance of mental health issues and families needing to stay alert.”

Mental health is important and here are some hotlines you can call if you need help and advice:

Mental health hotlines:

  • Institute of Mental Health’s Mental Health Helpline: 6389 2222
  • Samaritans of Singapore: 1800 221 4444
  • Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6385 3714

Child abuse hotlines:

  • MSF Child Protective Services: 1800 777 0000
  • Big Love Child Protection Specialist Centre: 6445 0400
  • HEART@Fei Yue Child Protection Specialist Centre: 6819 9170

Interpersonal violence

Family violence

  • Project START: 6476 1482
  • TRANS SAFE Centre: 6449 9088
  • AWARE: 1800 777 5555

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Teresa Chia
Email: [email protected]