OTHER MURDER-SUICIDES

7 May 2003
Land Transport Authority engineer Chow Peng Wah, 45, strangled his 11-year-old son, Weng Yan, in his bedroom.
An hour later, Chow, who was under pressure at work, then left their Ang Mo Kio condominium unit and leapt to his death from an HDB block in Yishun.
He left a suicide note saying that Weng Yan “would not be able to adapt to environment changes” after he was gone and so had “to be with him”.

Marriage was ‘on the rocks’
27 Feb 2000
At 3am, taxi driver Ho Tuck Wah, 50, stabbed his wife, Madam Mu Yu Mei, 29, before leaping to his death from their fifth-storey flat in Pasir Ris.
Their three boys, aged 9, 7 and 3 at the time, were orphaned.
When the police entered the flat, which was locked from the inside, they found Madam Mu, a Taiwan-born permanent resident, lying face down in a pool of blood.
It was reported that Ho may have killed himself because his marriage was on the rocks.

Set fire to flat
24 Jan 2006
Richard Prabhakaran, 35, tried to strangle his wife and start a fire in his Tampines flat. The couple, who had three sons, were about to split up.
All five were found unconscious after the fire broke out.
Prabhakaran died three days later.

Wrists bound with red string
24 Mar 2004
Housewife Yap Cheng Chui, 34, plunged to her death with her daughters, aged 3 and 2, from a Chin Swee Road block.
She had cancer and was depressed. In her suicide note, she also said she had post-natal blues.
The three were bound at the wrists with red string.

Dealing with signs of suicide

Ms Christine Wong, executive director of Samaritans of Singapore, said someone could be contemplating suicide if he:

• Talks about suicide and has a preoccupation with death
• Is looking for ways to die
• Makes statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness
• Shows unusual changes in moods or behaviour
• Makes arrangements to set his affairs in order
• Starts giving things away, such as prized possessions.

What you can do:

If a person displays warning signs of suicide, ask him about it to determine if he’s in immediate danger, and get help if needed. A suicidal person should see a doctor or mental health professional immediately.

• Never keep a plan for suicide a secret and don’t try to play down the problems.
• If you feel the person isn’t in immediate danger, acknowledge the pain as legitimate and offer to work together to get help.

Getting help:

• Call 1800 221 4444 - the SOS 24-hour helpline provides a listening ear. Callers can remain anonymous and what they share with SOS is strictly confidential.
• See an SOS counsellor. Call the hotline to make an appointment.
• E-mail [email protected] – an e-mail befriending service if they prefer to write.
• Join SOS Healing Bridge. This support group helps those who lose someone to cope with the grief and receive comfort and understanding from others who have suffered a similar loss.

This article was first published in The New Paper.