Former businessman to hang for killing wife and two children

The High Court today sentenced former businessman Jacob Tiang Lee Yee, 44, to death by hanging for killing his wife and two children at their house in the Pulau Li Hua residential area, here, on July 5, 2013 between 6.20am and 9.50am.

Judge Supang Lian had on Nov 18, this year found him guilty of killing his wife Ling Yung Ming, 40, daughter Christine Tiang Soon Ai,14, and son Victor Tiang Soon Sheng, 2, which were offences under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

She had also found him guilty of the attempted murder of another son, Vincent Tiang Soon Thai, 17, at the same place and time, an offence under Section 307 of the Penal Code.

For the attempted murder, Judge Supang sentenced Tiang to 15 years' jail.

In her judgement, Supang said the case was "a tragedy of unequal proportions".

"It is a story of a man having amassed massive debts falling into the hands of merciless creditors and in the end, driven to make the totally evil decision of killing his whole family.

"His wife Yung Ming was not spared and his daughter Christine and infant son Victor did not stand a chance.

"His younger son Vincent valiantly fought for his life and we are thankful he managed to escape from the house and from his father.

"To my mind, nothing can be more tragic and hurtful for a 17-year-old son to come to the realisation that he faced death at the hands of his own father.

"There can be no denying that this incident would have wounded him deeply and the memory of it etched in his mind for life," the judge said.

Earlier, before Supang made her judgement, Vincent who was present in the court compound, declined to give an impact statement against his father when approached by DPP Mohd. Azrul Faidz.

Tiang, dressed in a light pink short-sleeveed shirt and beige jeans, was calm when the sentence was made and explained to him by a court interpreter.

The judge also allowed a request from him to visit the graves of his wife and two children at the Sungai Aup Chinese Cemetery on humanitarian grounds, but under "strict supervision and escorts of the Prison authority".

When asked by Judge Supang why he wanted to do so, Tiang replied that he just wanted to see their graves.

He said if the court did not allow it, he hoped photographs could be taken for him to view them.

He was represented by assigned counsel, Ben Lau.