Ah pek would still be alive if he is not constantly worried about money! Welfare is a dirty word in Singapore!
SINGAPORE - A heated argument between a landlord and his tenant that led to the death of the former may have been over the utility bills, the victim's wife said.
Mr William Wong, 76, was found dead in a pool of blood in the master bedroom of his Yishun flat on Saturday.
Speaking to the Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao, Mr Wong's wife, Mdm Winnie Teo Ah Whah said that the tenant, Malaysian Woo Mui Mee, 34, was afraid of the dark and had insisted that all the lights in the Yishun flat be switched on throughout the day.
This led to numerous arguments between Mr Wong and his tenant due to the rising monthly utility bills which increased by around $10.
Explaining that the flat runs on pay-as-you-use electricity meters, Mdm Teo said that the weekly utility bill increased from $20 to $30 after the tenant moved in.
Mdm Teo, 58, found blood stains on the 'prepaid smart key' used to transfer credits to the electricity meter, leading her suspicions that the argument was over utility bills.
The quarrel reached boiling point on Saturday when Woo attacked Mr Wong with a knife at the common corridor, slashing his left forearm in the process.
Woo, who was married to a Singaporean, works as a dish washer in Singapore. She has a son aged around 4 years old staying with her ex-husband in Bedok.
Woo was charged in court today (Nov 23) with causing hurt to her landlord using a dangerous weapon, The Straits Times reported. She nodded her head in silence as the charges were read to her by a Mandarin interpreter, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
If convicted, Woo faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine. The case will be mentioned next Monday (Nov 30), Lianhe Wanbao added.
Stepchildren offers to take care of her
Mdm Teo earns $25 daily as a cleaner. She used to give Mr Wong $15 daily, while she kept the remaining $10.
Mr Wong was unemployed for over a year, Mdm Teo told Lianhe Wanbao, and relied on the $15 for his daily expenses such as food and cigarettes.
With tears in her eyes, she said: "Even though our age gap is 18 years, we loved each other. I didn't expect him to go just like that..."
Mr Wong has two children from his previous marriage. The siblings live together in Redhill. His daughter is a widow with five children.
The son, Mr Wong Yong Kang, a hawker, offered his stepmother a job at his hawker stall. He also wanted her to move into their HDB flat, but Mdm Teo refused.
Mdm Teo told Lianhe Wanbao that she does not want to burden them, and that she is able to support herself.
"It is not easy for a single mother to raise five kids. My stepson has diabetes too. I hope to rent out part of the Yishun flat to help alleviate their situation," Mdm Teo said.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singap...-wife-suspects-quarrel-was-over-utility-bills
SINGAPORE - A heated argument between a landlord and his tenant that led to the death of the former may have been over the utility bills, the victim's wife said.
Mr William Wong, 76, was found dead in a pool of blood in the master bedroom of his Yishun flat on Saturday.
Speaking to the Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao, Mr Wong's wife, Mdm Winnie Teo Ah Whah said that the tenant, Malaysian Woo Mui Mee, 34, was afraid of the dark and had insisted that all the lights in the Yishun flat be switched on throughout the day.
This led to numerous arguments between Mr Wong and his tenant due to the rising monthly utility bills which increased by around $10.
Explaining that the flat runs on pay-as-you-use electricity meters, Mdm Teo said that the weekly utility bill increased from $20 to $30 after the tenant moved in.
Mdm Teo, 58, found blood stains on the 'prepaid smart key' used to transfer credits to the electricity meter, leading her suspicions that the argument was over utility bills.
The quarrel reached boiling point on Saturday when Woo attacked Mr Wong with a knife at the common corridor, slashing his left forearm in the process.
Woo, who was married to a Singaporean, works as a dish washer in Singapore. She has a son aged around 4 years old staying with her ex-husband in Bedok.
Woo was charged in court today (Nov 23) with causing hurt to her landlord using a dangerous weapon, The Straits Times reported. She nodded her head in silence as the charges were read to her by a Mandarin interpreter, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
If convicted, Woo faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine. The case will be mentioned next Monday (Nov 30), Lianhe Wanbao added.
Stepchildren offers to take care of her
Mdm Teo earns $25 daily as a cleaner. She used to give Mr Wong $15 daily, while she kept the remaining $10.
Mr Wong was unemployed for over a year, Mdm Teo told Lianhe Wanbao, and relied on the $15 for his daily expenses such as food and cigarettes.
With tears in her eyes, she said: "Even though our age gap is 18 years, we loved each other. I didn't expect him to go just like that..."
Mr Wong has two children from his previous marriage. The siblings live together in Redhill. His daughter is a widow with five children.
The son, Mr Wong Yong Kang, a hawker, offered his stepmother a job at his hawker stall. He also wanted her to move into their HDB flat, but Mdm Teo refused.
Mdm Teo told Lianhe Wanbao that she does not want to burden them, and that she is able to support herself.
"It is not easy for a single mother to raise five kids. My stepson has diabetes too. I hope to rent out part of the Yishun flat to help alleviate their situation," Mdm Teo said.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singap...-wife-suspects-quarrel-was-over-utility-bills
