A 43-year-old Thai woman who is a permanent resident was sentenced to only 5½ years’ jail for murdering her Singaporean boyfriend. The Singapore court founded her guilty for culpable homicide and passed the hotly-debated judgment today (Mar 16).
The murder happened on 1 March 2015 at the boyfriend’s rented HDB flat where she live in together with her parents. During a quarrel that led to a scuffle, Saukanya Praphutta shoved 55-year-old handyman Lee Yang Boo to the floor and the Thai woman who weighed 10 kg heavier started stomping on his head non-stop. During the assault, a neighbour heard the Singaporean man shouted “don’t beat me” and “stop beating me”. The Thai woman stopped only after noticing his left ear was bleeding and he started having breathing difficulties.
At about 4.30am, she sought help from a neighbout who called the police. Lee Yang Boo died 2 hours later in Tan Tock Seng Hospital from the serious head fractures he sustained during the attack. The autopsy also found 47 bruises all over his body.
In her defence, the Thai woman said in court that she brutally assaulted Lee Yang Boo because he insulted her parents. The Singapore court also did not point out the obvious case of abuse that led to the 47 bruises found on the Singaporean deceased.
The case has again proven that foreigners are given lighter punishments as compared to Singaporean offenders.