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SINGAPORE: An 88-year-old Singaporean man who was serving a 15-year jail term for hacking his partner to death died in December 2025 of pneumonia.<\/p>\n
A coroner’s court on Tuesday (May 12) found that Mr Pak Kian Huat had died of a natural disease process, with no evidence of foul play.<\/p>\n
He had also been afforded the appropriate medical care at Changi Prison’s Complex Medical Centre and Changi General Hospital, said State Coroner Adam Nakhoda.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Mr Pak’s family members had become estranged from him after the incident in 2019, when he killed his domestic partner, Madam Lim Soi Moy.<\/p>\n
Madam Lim was 79 when she was hacked to death with a chopper in a Housing Board flat in Toa Payoh, after a dispute about her rooming arrangement with Mr Pak.<\/p>\n
The sentencing judge in May 2023 said Mr Pak’s attack was “deliberately and unspeakably vicious and brutal”.<\/p>\n
The couple met as teenagers in the 1950s and had four children together, but never married.<\/p>\n
During an earlier hearing in 2022, Mr Pak made numerous objections to the statement of facts, exclaiming that he did not admit that 54 wounds were found on his partner.<\/p>\n
When questioned by the judge, he laughed and said he “can’t possibly have killed her so skilfully” and that he stopped when he saw her stop breathing.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The investigation officer told the coroner’s court that Changi Prison records showed Mr Pak had an extensive medical history.<\/p>\n
This includes recurrent pneumonia complicated by respiratory failure and heart disease, among other conditions.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He was most recently admitted to hospital on Nov 1, 2025 and diagnosed with pneumonia caused by bacterial infection.<\/p>\n
His condition deteriorated in late November 2025, and a clinical decision was made to place him on comfort care.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
No resuscitation was done because of the directive, and he was pronounced dead at 1am on Dec 2, 2025.<\/p>\n
The police were notified since Mr Pak had died while in official custody.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The son had no concerns over his passing and did not attend the coroner’s inquiry.<\/p>\n
The coroner noted that Mr Pak had been diagnosed a number of times with pneumonia and his November 2025 admission was “turbulent”.<\/p>\n
Mr Pak had initially responded to treatment, but there were further medical complications and he was unable to recover despite aggressive treatment.<\/p>\n
He expressed his condolences to Mr Pak’s family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n