Man who hacked partner to death died of pneumonia while serving jail term: Coroner’s court

When told by the judge that if he did not admit the facts, the guilty plea could not be accepted and he would have to go on trial for murder which is punishable by death, Mr Pak replied: “Fine, death penalty.”

He eventually pleaded guilty to a single charge of culpable homicide, punishable by life imprisonment with caning, or jail for up to 20 years with a fine or caning. He could not be caned due to his age.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS

The investigation officer told the coroner’s court that Changi Prison records showed Mr Pak had an extensive medical history.

This includes recurrent pneumonia complicated by respiratory failure and heart disease, among other conditions.

Because of his decline, Mr Pak was housed at the Complex Medical Centre within the prison and was bedridden and needed help for all his activities.

He was most recently admitted to hospital on Nov 1, 2025 and diagnosed with pneumonia caused by bacterial infection.

His condition deteriorated in late November 2025, and a clinical decision was made to place him on comfort care.

A do-not-resuscitate directive had been issued and his youngest son, his only next-of-kin who still liaised with the prison for Mr Pak’s matters, was notified.

A nurse on duty was closely monitoring Mr Pak on the night of Dec 1, 2025. His vitals lowered at about 10pm, and he was later found unresponsive with no pulse and no breathing.

No resuscitation was done because of the directive, and he was pronounced dead at 1am on Dec 2, 2025.

The police were notified since Mr Pak had died while in official custody.

The investigation officer, Sergeant Gideon Lim, said no injuries, defensive wounds or signs of violence were found on Mr Pak and that the police suspected no foul play in his death.

Mr Pak’s youngest son told SGT Lim that he was the main point of contact with the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) since his father was incarcerated in 2019.

He and the rest of his siblings generally cut ties with Mr Pak after this. The youngest son said he was kept updated by SPS on his well-being and hospital visits, and the family felt that the best efforts were made for Mr Pak’s care.

The son had no concerns over his passing and did not attend the coroner’s inquiry.

The coroner noted that Mr Pak had been diagnosed a number of times with pneumonia and his November 2025 admission was “turbulent”.

Mr Pak had initially responded to treatment, but there were further medical complications and he was unable to recover despite aggressive treatment.

He expressed his condolences to Mr Pak’s family.