Man sentenced to 15 years' jail for attempting to murder his daughter over family home, stabbed her 17 times

SINGAPORE: A man who stabbed his daughter repeatedly at a bus stop, intending to kill her over the sale of the family home, was sentenced to 15 years' jail on Friday (Nov 5).

Malaysian national Shoo Ah San, 65, had pleaded guilty earlier this week to one count of attempted murder, with a second charge of possessing an offensive weapon in public considered in sentencing.

He had plotted to kill his eldest child, a 42-year-old woman who lives with her husband in Marsiling, since June 2019 when he saw the refurbished family home in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, and assumed it was sold.

He also planned to commit suicide after murdering her, by jumping off the block of flats where she lived in Singapore. But he delayed his plan until January 2020 when his girlfriend asked him to move out.

Shoo, who had been locked out of the family home by his elder son previously and was an undischarged bankrupt, rode his motorcycle across the Causeway on Jan 17, 2020 to look for his daughter.

When he spotted her walking towards a bus stop along Marsiling Lane at about 5am, he ran towards her and stabbed her multiple times on her shoulder, chest and back, saying: "You all harm me very miserably."

He aimed first at her neck, but his daughter blocked the blow from the serrated knife. He fled when he sensed someone approaching, but returned when he saw that she was not dead.

With a passerby tending to his daughter, Shoo stabbed her multiple times again, stopping only when he saw blood flowing from her mouth.

He was arrested five days later, in an islandwide police manhunt, while searching for his elder son.

His daughter suffered multiple injuries including potentially fatal ones and a collapsed lung, and underwent physiotherapy and medical treatment until June 2021.

The prosecution had sought between 16 and 18 years' jail for Shoo, while the defence lawyer from Drew and Napier, who was acting pro bono, asked for 10 years. He said Shoo was "a very lonely father figure" who was "chased out of his house by his children and forced to live homeless on the streets".

Justice Aedit Abdullah found that substantial and grave harm was caused to Shoo's daughter, with substantial injuries including collapsed lungs on top of her 17 stab wounds. One of the wound was as long as 4cm and went deep into the muscle, he said.

The attack also occurred along a street in the morning and caused harm to public peace, said the judge. He said all citizens have the right to walk along the streets in peace, whether in the day or at night, and those who breach the peace or security and attempt to kill "can only expect to be dealt with severely".

He rejected the argument by the defence that Shoo's age should lead to a reduction in sentence. He did not impose any extra jail term in lieu of caning.

The penalties for attempted murder are life imprisonment and caning, or a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine or caning. Shoo cannot be caned as he is above 50.