Man in Punggol Stabbed His Neighbour to Dead Due to a Noise Dispute

A noise complaint turned deadly when a 46-year-old man stabbed his neighbour to death at a Punggol HDB corridor, landing him a life sentence plus 10 strokes of the cane.

The victim died from a severed artery in his neck.

The man pleaded guilty to murder charges in the High Court on 7 November.

The incident took place at Block 326A Sumang Walk on 14 July 2021, around 3 PM.

Image: Google Maps

Here’s what happened.

Man in Punggol Stabbed His Neighbour to Dead Due to a Noise Dispute

Court documents showed that the culprit moved in with his mother in 2018 after his parents’ divorce.

The victim worked as a coffee shop assistant.

The victim became his next-door neighbor in 2019. Initially, they got along well, even exchanging pineapple tarts during Chinese New Year.

However, their relationship soured in 2020 over noise complaints.

The victim got upset about the culprit’s mother’s late-night garbage disposal habits, leading to at least two arguments.

The culprit had apologized, explaining their faulty door made noise. He also added that he had accidentally killed his uncle in his early years and had served time in prison.

He then warned the victim about his past, hoping to stop the harassment against his mother and himself.

On the day of the incident, the victim was drunk and banged on the man’s door, challenging him to a fight and taunting him. Despite getting punched through the gate, the culprit kept asking the victim to go home.

The victim left but returned with a 15-centimetre knife.

After throwing the knife into the culprit’s house, the victim grabbed a metal pot to bang on the door.

It was then the culprit picked up the knife and stabbed the victim’s neck through the gate.

After neighbours called the police, the victim somehow still managed to light a cigarette, saying, “If I die, you’ll die too.”

It was then opened the culprit door and stabbed the victim multiple times, including his throat.

Medical records revealed that the culprit has a schizophrenia diagnosis in 2007. In 2008, he served eight years for manslaughter after killing his uncle.

After release, he lived quietly with his mother and stuck to his treatment plan.

His lawyer told the court that he had acted under repeated provocation and feared for his mother’s safety, though he accepted responsibility for his actions.

To know more on how to resolve neighbour disputes, watch this to the end: