Public Prosecutor v Teo Chee Seng

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Chao Hick Tin JA
• Judgment Date: 12 May 2005
• Neutral Citation: [2005] SGCA 28
• Docket Number: Criminal Case Appeal No 3 of 2005
• Date: 12 May 2005
• Year: 2005
• Published date: 13 May 2005
• Plaintiff Counsel: Cheng Howe Ming, Woo Kar Wai and Jason Chan (Deputy Public Prosecutors)
• Citation: [2005] SGCA 28
• Defendant Counsel: Michael Chia (Sankar Ow and Partners)
• Court: Court of Appeal (Singapore)
• Subject Matter: Whether trial judge justified in departing from sentencing norm,Benchmark sentences,Whether sentence of four years' imprisonment manifestly inadequate,Sentencing,Respondent convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing death of infant by feeding her medicated oil,Additional charge of fabricating false evidence taken into consideration for sentencing purposes,Criminal Procedure and Sentencing

12 May 2005

Tan Lee Meng J (delivering the judgment of the court):

1 The Public Prosecutor appealed against the sentence of four years’ imprisonment imposed in the court below on the respondent, Teo Chee Seng (“Teo”), who pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishable under s 304 (b) of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed), for causing the death of Joanna Goh Jia Ying, a female infant aged seven months. When imposing the sentence, the trial judge took into account a second charge against Teo for fabricating false evidence by getting another person, Haidil bin Harun (“Haidil”), to make a false police report, in which Haidil claimed to have been present when the infant was found unconscious and that it was he who put medicated oil on the infant’s tongue. We allowed the appeal against the sentence imposed on Teo and now set out the reasons for our decision.

2 Teo had been hired as a private investigator by the infant’s mother, Tay Seoh Hong (“Tay”), to check on the movements of her husband, whom she suspected of having an affair with another woman. As it turned out, Teo, a married man with children of his own, fell in love with Tay and they became lovers. After Tay separated from her husband, Teo’s mother helped Tay look after the infant.

3 The tragic event occurred on 25 October 2000 when Teo had to look after the infant for some time. He first drove to a car park at Serangoon Garden Way as he wanted to buy 4-D tickets. When the infant started crying, he decided to go to another 4-D outlet at Hougang Central. As the infant was still crying, he tried to pacify her by feeding her milk but the infant refused to drink the milk. Teo then applied some “Axe” medicated oil onto the infant’s lips and nostrils. The infant showed signs of discomfort and the accused assumed that she felt a burning sensation on her lips and nostrils after the application of the medicated oil.

4 A little later, Teo shouted at the infant when she began to cry again. This time, he poured some of the medicated oil into the infant’s mouth. The infant stopped crying but she moved her tongue in and out of her mouth and groaned in discomfort. Teo then joined the queue at the 4-D outlet at Hougang Central to purchase 4-D tickets. While he was in the queue, the infant started to cry. Teo returned with the infant to his car and tried to feed her milk. When she refused to drink the milk, he applied medicated oil onto her lips and nostrils and proceeded to a petrol kiosk to buy some goods, including a bottle of “Axe” medicated oil because the one that he had was already empty.

5 Teo next drove to the Riverdale Plaza car park and tried to feed the infant again. When she refused to drink the milk offered to her and cried, he shook the contents of the new bottle of medicated oil into her mouth. The infant’s cries became fainter and fainter, her face changed colour, her stomach became bloated, there was a watery discharge from her nostrils and she retched and tried very hard to get rid of the poisonous substance from her body before she finally became unconscious. Teo took the infant and ran to a medical clinic in the shopping mall. It was then around 5.03pm. An ambulance took the infant to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6.30pm. Dr Wee Keng Poh, a forensic pathologist, certified that the cause of death was “acute salicylic acid poisoning”.

6 Teo pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. His counsel pointed out that Teo had a history of “acute situation reaction” and that he did not intend to kill the infant as he loved her very much. At the material time, he was involved in his own divorce proceedings and was suffering from severe acute stress.

7 The trial judge, who noted that the court had a discretion to impose a sentence of imprisonment for up to ten years, was of the view that this case warranted a sentence that fell within the mid-range of the specified period of incarceration. He noted that Teo had not used violence on the child and that...