Man gets life imprisonment for murdering roommate with knife and boiling oil after months of co-living disputes

Ng felt that Mr Ang deliberately slammed the door at night to disturb him while he was asleep, while Mr Ang was unhappy that Ng smoked by the window. He also did not like it that Ng hung his underwear to dry in the kitchen.

THE MURDER

On Mar 15, 2023, Ng went to bed and was jolted awake about 40 minutes later by Mr Ang slamming the door on his return.

The pair got into an argument and used vulgarities on each other.

Ng was frustrated and felt he could no longer tolerate Mr Ang. He did not want the latter to die easily and intended to pour boiling oil on him.

He went to the kitchen, filled a pot half full with cooking oil and heated it over the stove.

Seeing some red chillis, he cut them into smaller pieces and added them to the pot, thinking they would inflict greater pain on the victim.

After closing all the windows to reduce noise, Ng took a knife and the pot of oil with him to the sleeping victim.

At about 2.10am on Mar 16, 2023, Ng approached the sleeping victim and poured the boiling oil on Mr Ang’s face.

Mr Ang woke up immediately and stood on his bed, and Ng thrust the knife into his stomach.

The victim bled profusely and asked Ng in Hokkien why he did this. He then walked to the main door and squatted. 

Concerned that Mr Ang would press the distress button installed in the flat for elderly residents’ use in an emergency, Ng stood between the victim and the button, ignoring Mr Ang’s pleas to call for an ambulance.

Ng also slashed the victim’s neck and the attack left the floor covered in blood.

After confirming that Mr Ang was dead, Ng took about S$3,000 (US$2,300) from him, placed the knife in the sink and washed his hands.

He also threw the victim’s phone into a fish tank to disable it before leaving the flat. He went to a temple along Bencoolen Street where he prayed and confessed to killing the victim, vowing to surrender to the police after spending all his money.

He went to Geylang and spent the cash he had on beer, expensive food and tips for Vietnamese entertainers.

He then checked into a hotel with a woman, drank heavily and fell asleep. On Mar 17, 2023, he took a bus to Chinatown for breakfast before surrendering to the police.

He said he had killed his housemate.