Murder conviction for seafood boss overturned

[Grand Moff Tarkin]

Apr 12, 2011

Murder conviction for seafood boss overturned

By Selina Lum

Eu Lim Hoklai (above) escaped the death penalty after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction for murdering his China mistress. -- ST FILE PHOTO

A SEAFOOD stall boss escaped the gallows on Tuesday when the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction for murdering his China mistress in the Ang Mo Kio massage parlour she ran.

Eu Lim Hoklai, 57, had been given the mandatory death penalty by the High Court in 2009 for killing Madam Yu Hongjin on June 18, 2006.

Justice V. K. Rajah, delivering the decision of the three-judge court in Eu's appeal against his conviction, said that it was unsafe to conclude that this was a case of murder in cold blood.

Rather it appears to have been a death caused in the heat of the moment, said the judge, convicting him of a lesser charge of culpable homicide, which carries up to 10 years' jail or life imprisonment. Eu had gone to meet Madam Yu that day - Father's Day - but the meeting turned violent. Madam Yu died from strangulation and two stab wounds. Eu suffered wounds that damaged no major organs.

The prosecution's case was that Eu had strangled Madam Yu after she was stabbed twice and helpless. But Eu said Madam Yu stabbed him first and he retaliated. On Tuesday, Justice V. K. Rajah - delivering the Court of Appeal's decision - said it was plausible that some of Eu's wounds could have been inflicted by Madam Yu.

It was likely that a struggle took place in the massage parlour although it is not clear who struck the first blow, he said. The benefit of the doubt has to be given to the accused in such 'difficult' cases, said Justice Rajah.

 

[Zuo Ci]

Apr 13, 2011

Lover's death: Man escapes gallows
Appeal judges not convinced killing was 'cold-blooded murder'

By Selina Lum

Eu has been convicted of killing Madam Yu. Her body as it was being carried out (above) of the massage parlour where she was killed in 2006. -- PHOTO: SHIN MIN, WANBAO FILE PHOTOS

A SEAFOOD-STALL boss escaped the gallows yesterday when the Court of Appeal overturned his murder conviction for killing his Chinese mistress in 2006.

Eu Lim Hoklai, 57, had been given the mandatory death penalty by the High Court in 2009 for murdering Madam Yu Hongjin, 30, in a massage parlour she ran in Ang Mo Kio.

He appealed against the conviction last September.

Yesterday, Justice V. K. Rajah, delivering the decision of the three-judge court, said that, given the lack of clarity about the incident, 'it would be unsafe to conclude that this was a case of murder in cold blood'.

Rather, the appeal judges found, it appears to have been a death caused in the heat of the moment, either upon a sudden fight or grave and sudden provocation.

Justice Rajah said there was sufficient objective evidence to show that an intense struggle had taken place on the morning of June 18, 2006.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[Zuo Ci]

<img id="lightboxImage" style="" src="http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20110413/ST_IMAGES_SEEU13.jpg" width="329">​

Eu has been convicted of killing Madam Yu (above). Her body as it was being carried out of the massage parlour where she was killed in 2006. -- PHOTO: SHIN MIN, WANBAO FILE PHOTOS​

 

[Zhuge Liang]

May 27, 2011

Seafood boss Eu Lim Hoklai gets 10-year jail term

By Selina Lum

A seafood-stall boss who in April, escaped the death sentence for the 2006 killing of his Chinese mistress, was on Friday jailed for 10 years. -- PHOTO: SHIN MIN

A SEAFOOD-stall boss who in April, escaped the death sentence for the 2006 killing of his Chinese mistress, was on Friday jailed for 10 years.

Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Eu Lim Hoklai, 57, but Justice Kan Ting Chiu did not think it was appropriate.

After sentencing, Eu's 86-year-old mother - who was in court with a few relatives - broke down in tears and told her son's lawyer, Mr Subhas Anandan, in Hokkien: 'You saved my child.'

The 10-year jail term was backdated to the date Eu was first remanded in June 2006. With the usual one-third remission for good behaviour, he could be released from prison in just over a year.

Eu had been given the mandatory death penalty by the High Court in 2009 for murdering Madam Yu Hongjin, 30, in a massage parlour she ran in Ang Mo Kio on June 18, 2006. He appealed against the conviction in September 2010.

In April 2011, the appeal court set aside his murder conviction and found him guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, saying that it appears to have been a death caused in the heat of the moment, either upon a sudden fight or grave and sudden provocation. The appeal court said there was sufficient objective evidence to show that an intense struggle had taken place at the massage parlour.