Woman admits threatening to kill tenants with kitchen knife while drunk, blames alcohol use on insomnia

SINGAPORE — Angry and drunk, a woman spent more than 30 minutes banging on the bedroom door of her husband's tenants and threatening to kill them while they took refuge inside the room.

Fearing for their lives, one of the tenants called the police and the woman, Li Kun, was arrested.

On Tuesday (March 21), the 40-year-old pleaded guilty to a single charge of criminal intimidation, while another similar charge will be taken into consideration for her sentencing that is scheduled for April 21.

The court heard that before the incident, Li had been quarrelling with the tenants over their disposal of face masks and the way that they kept a cat at home.

District Judge Marvin Bay called for a report to assess if she is suitable for a mandatory treatment order — a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to their offence.

THE CASE

The court heard that the incident took place early on Oct 20, 2021 in an apartment owned by Li’s husband, a Singaporean whose name was not given.

At the time of her offence, Li, a China national, was working as a beautician.

The tenants, Mr Soo Zu Liang and Ms Teo Yuen — both Malaysians, now aged 26 and 30 respectively — had been renting a single room from Li’s husband for around four months. The nature of the pair's relationship was not stated in court.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yohanes Ng said that the tenants were woken up at around 6.30am by loud banging sounds and Li shouting from the living room.

Camera footage taken in the unit, part of which was played in court, showed Li retrieving a 33cm-long knife from the kitchen and pacing around the house.

On several occasions, DPP Ng said that she started waving the knife and was heard uttering in Mandarin that she was holding it and would use it to “stab whoever… comes out”, among other threats.

At the same time, Li was observed to be knocking aggressively on the door of the tenants’ room with the knife, or using it to scratch the door, DPP Ng added.

Mr Soo called the police around 6.50am, stating that his “house owner is crazy” and that she wanted to kill him and Ms Teo.

After Li was eventually arrested, investigators found that she was intoxicated.

DPP Ng, who sought a jail term of between three and four months, noted that Li was “voluntarily intoxicated”, which is an aggravating factor under Singapore’s laws.

He also said that a jail term was warranted for Li’s case because she had made a serious threat and “could have followed through on the threat, given that she was actually holding a knife”.

‘TURNED TO ALCOHOL FOR SOLACE’

Li’s lawyer, Mr Amarjit Singh of the Amarjit Sindhu Law firm, asked the court to call for a report to assess if his client is suitable to be the subject of other sentencing options, including a mandatory treatment order.

The court also heard that Li began to suffer emotionally as a result of her court case.

Mr Singh said that she had been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression. However, the prosecution said that this diagnosis was made only after Li committed her offences.

Providing some background on his client, Mr Singh described her relationship with her husband as “strained” and that she had sought solace in drinking alcohol.

District Judge Bay then questioned Li about her relationship with her tenants, and she told the judge through a Chinese translator that she had been quarrelling with them over two issues.

One involved the disposal of face masks.

Li said that the first argument happened sometime in October 2021. She was concerned about the Covid-19 situation then, so she was unhappy that Ms Teo had been discarding face masks into a rubbish bin.

This led to a disagreement between the two. Li eventually sought the advice of the police and she claimed that the police told her to get Ms Teo to move out of the unit.

“But my husband ignored me,” she added.

The second instance involved Li’s pet cat, and she said that she had been reminding the tenants to keep the windows closed. They lived on the 10th floor and she was worried that her cat would jump out through the windows.

“After I had explained (to her), she said, ‘Don’t keep the cat. Send it to someone else’. I explained to the lady tenant (that) it is a life (and) I cannot just send it here and there.”

Li claimed that the woman ignored her and still kept the windows wide open.

She continued: “I am not a person who drinks alcohol. It was under this pressure from the tenant, as well as because my husband did not show me care and concern, (that) I could not get to sleep for a prolonged period of time.”

Li said that her insomnia led to hallucinations and she eventually resorted to drinking alcohol “in order for (her) to have a good sleep”.

She added that she was “not trying to quibble” for herself and that the “heavens have already given me a severe punishment”.

Her mother died last August in China and she was unable to return due to her court case. Her father is now recovering from medical treatment.

“In this 5,000 years of (Chinese history), filial piety is the most important thing,” Li said.

“I did not perform this filial piety towards my mother. My father… is still living on this earth because I am his support. I have to chat with him every day via the internet. I am pleading guilty… and I hope Your Honour can give a fair sentence.”

In response, District Judge Bay said that Li’s offences were “deeply concerning”, but it would be appropriate to properly understand her psychiatric history and how this might, or might not, be relevant in playing a role in contributing to her acts of criminal intimidation.

He was seeking the suitability report on sentencing options so that the court can proceed with Li’s sentencing on a “fully informed basis”.

Anyone found guilty of criminal intimidation can be jailed up to two years or fined, or both. If the threat is to cause death, the jail term can be extended to at least seven years.