Man who beat adoptive father to death and hit GF for rejecting anal sex gets more than 15 years' jail

A mentally ill man who beat his adoptive father to death and assaulted his girlfriend for refusing to engage in anal sex on New Year’s Eve in 2015 was sentenced to more than 15 years’ jail on Thursday (Feb 22).

Su Caizhi, 30, also attacked his adoptive mother. 

He had been adopted by the childless couple — Mr Pang Tee Lin, 72, and his wife, Madam Wong Ah Boey, 69 — from China's Hainan province in 1992 when he was five, and later received $70,000 of the $100,000 that got from the sale of their curry rice hawker stall.

Su lost part of the money in forex trading, and two failed businesses.

He also enrolled in an accountancy course he did not complete and squandered the rest on himself and his then-girlfriend, Melissa Foo Fern Yin. 

During the sentencing, Justice Kanna Ramesh noted that Su’s assault on Mr Pang was savage and unprovoked. 

Mr Pang who had provided for Su for than 20 years, had been defenceless during the assault. 

Nevertheless, Su punched him twice in his face, stomped on his face and continued kicking his chest. 

Mr Pang suffered severe brain injury and fractures to his face, ribs and spine. 

His poor prognosis led family members to agree to take off life support nine days later.

Su was sentenced to 14 years jail on a charge of culpable homicide for beating Mr Pang to death. 

The High Court judge said:

“The point must be registered with the accused that his recalcitrance in failing to adhere to his medication played a significant part in the demise of the deceased and was a material factor in the length of the custodial sentence.”

The court heard that three days after Su was discharged from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) on Dec 9, 2015, he had gone off his medication. 

Su reportedly started experiencing psychotic symptoms and hearing voices after that. 

He received another 12 months’ jail for his assault on Madam Wong, and 15 months’ imprisonment for causing grievous hurt to Ms Foo. 

Another six weeks’ jail was given on a charge of wrong confinement, in which Su had trapped Ms Foo and her former husband inside their flat by placing a padlock on the front gate, and pouring glue into the lock on the back gate. 

The 12-month jail term will run concurrently with the 14 years’ one. 

The other jail terms will run consecutively.

In total, this will amount to 15 years, three months and six weeks. 

Despite the symptoms which should serve as ‘wake-up calls’ of the danger he could pose to those around him, Su did not continue with his medication. 

Even worse, Su sniffed glue and consumed alcohol on the day of the incident. 

The judge said that a long jail term will ensure that Su can receive treatment in a structured environment, and instil in him the need and discipline to take his medication, as well as minimise the risk he poses to others. 

Madam Wong who was in court with a group of elderly men and women left quickly after the verdict was read out. 

She did not talk to Su and declined to comment when approached by reporters. 

Su had pleaded guilty to the four charges earlier in February 2018.

Three other charges including threatening to kill Madam Wong, spraying black paint on the gates and doors of Ms Foo’s flat, and causing hurt to Ms Foo, were taken into consideration. 

The Straits Times visited Madam Wong’s flat on Thursday evening and found that the interior was completely dark, and the gate had been padlocked. 

There didn’t seem to be anyone home. 

However, neighbours commented that this was ‘quite normal’ for Madam Wong. 

A neighbour, Canteen hawker Bob Khan, who has lived there for 34 years said that Mr Pang had been the more cheerful of the two. 

He added:

“Madam Wong kept to herself. Even after the incident, she is still the same.”