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Jail for man who failed to report girlfriend’s death in 2024 after discovering her body.
SINGAPORE: When a man found his girlfriend dead in her bedroom, he tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her before leaving with his belongings.
He texted his girlfriend's sister hours later to say only that the woman was uncontactable. When his girlfriend's sister showed up at the unit with his girlfriend's children, she found her sister dead and decomposing.
Jason Hong Kai Qi, a 34-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to one week's jail on Monday (Nov 17) for a rare charge of failure to report death.
He had earlier been charged with concealing a corpse, but this charge was downgraded and was not among the final slate of offences that he pleaded guilty to.
Hong also received penalties for unrelated traffic offences, such that his total jail sentence was three months and one week, along with a fine of S$1,000 (US$786) and a driving ban of 12 months.
His girlfriend's name was redacted from court documents as she had children whose identities are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.
THE CASE
The court heard that Hong was in a relationship with a 33-year-old woman, who had two children from a previous marriage. Her ex-husband had custody of the kids.
On Apr 23, 2024, Hong drove to his girlfriend's condominium unit in Hougang, after failing to contact her.
He entered at about 4.10pm and noticed that the unit looked messy.
The door to the bedroom was open, and the light was switched off. The curtains were fully drawn and the room was "quite dark", court documents stated.
Hong saw his girlfriend lying motionless on the bed, with a blanket up to her neck.
He took her inhaler next to her and pumped it once into her mouth. He heard an exhaling sound and noticed white residue around her mouth.
Hong attempted chest resuscitation on his girlfriend, but she remained unresponsive.
Hong then took some of his personal belongings from the unit and went to his car, before placing his condominium access card in a sealed envelope in the shoe rack outside the unit.
He knew that his girlfriend was dead, but failed to call for medical attention or make any report of the death to a police officer.
Later that day, Hong sent WhatsApp messages to his girlfriend's sister, stating only that his girlfriend was uncontactable and not that she had died.
The girlfriend's sister did not think that anything was amiss. She had just met her sister the weekend before, and it was normal for her sister to be uncontactable.
On Apr 27, 2024, four days after Hong visited the unit, his girlfriend's sister went to the condominium unit with her sister's two children.
Upon entering, the woman noticed a foul smell and discovered her sister lying unresponsive on the bed. She called for medical attention, and attending paramedics confirmed that her sister was dead.
As a result of Hong's failure to report the death, the body was discovered only four days after his initial visit.
An autopsy was performed on the woman, but her final cause of death was unascertained, as her body was in a state of advanced decomposition and the findings revealed no obvious natural disease of the type or severity that might cause or contribute to death.
Hong also pleaded guilty to several charges in an unrelated case in January 2022, when he drove a car without a licence and collided with the back of a taxi.
He gave a different identity to the taxi driver and instructed his friend to lie that he had been driving instead, and take the blame.
Hong lied to the traffic police in two recorded statements about who was driving the car at the time, claiming that he had lent his car to his friend.
The prosecution sought three months' jail for obstruction of justice in the traffic case and a short jail term for the failure to report death, along with a fine and driving ban.
Mitigation
Hong’s lawyers said he panicked upon discovering his girlfriend and attempted first aid. They described him as confused and distraught, and argued that his messages to the sister were not intended to mislead.
District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said the offence of failing to report a death is rare, and its purpose is to ensure prompt police notification so investigations are not delayed.
The judge noted Hong’s actions resulted in the deceased being undiscovered for four days and that his messages gave a false impression she was still alive.
Under Singapore law, failing to report a death carries a maximum penalty of one month’s jail, a fine of up to S$1,500, or both.
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