Rivervale Drive murder: Relatives say woman accused of killing her adoptive father was 'treated like a princess' by parents

[The_King]

SINGAPORE — The relatives of a 67-year-old man who was allegedly killed by his daughter in their Sengkang flat on Friday (Nov 4) expressed their shock and anger at the incident, saying that the deceased and his late wife had treated their daughter like a princess throughout her life.

But they noted that the relationship between daughter Tan Qiu Yan and her father had started worsening since the death of Tan's mother two months ago. 

The victim’s nephew, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, 33, told TODAY on Friday that he had heard from other relatives lately about the pair fighting over money left behind by the man’s wife, ownership of the flat, which is along Rivervale Drive, and household chores. 

“My uncle would tell my mum about how worried he was that his daughter doesn’t know how to do things around the house, like using the washing machine or cooking for herself, and that every time he tried to teach her, she didn’t want to listen,” Mr Lee, who works in information technology, said.

In a media statement on Friday, the police said that a 31-year-old woman has been arrested for her suspected involvement in the murder of the 67-year-old man. 

 

 

The police received a call requesting assistance at a residential unit along Rivervale Drive at about 5.30am. 

“Upon arrival, officers found a 67-year-old man lying motionless with multiple wounds inside the unit. He was subsequently pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene." 

The police said that the woman will be charged on Saturday and that investigations are ongoing. The offence of murder carries the death penalty. 

Leonard Leong/TODAY The police cordoned off a section of the common corridor outside a flat on Rivervale Drive where a 67-year-old man was found with multiple wounds and later declared dead.

‘TREATED LIKE A PRINCESS’

When TODAY arrived at the 15th-storey flat of the public housing block on Friday, a police cordon had already been set up there. 

At the void deck, the man’s relatives had gathered but they dispersed after speaking to members of the media. 

The man’s brother-in-law, Mr Ng Swee Meng, 73, who rushed down after he received a call from his wife about the incident, told TODAY that the deceased had been a butcher who retired after he suffered from a mini stroke a few years ago. 

 

 

“After the stroke, he suffered some paralysis… he wasn’t very strong anymore so he stopped working,” Mr Ng, a retired cook, said.

Mr Lee the nephew said that this was the main reason why the deceased had wanted to teach his daughter how to do the household chores, so that she can live independently if his own health worsened.

Mr Lee also said that before his aunt died, the couple were very close to their daughter and doted on her.

The accused had been adopted by the couple when she was a baby because the couple could not conceive, he added.

“But they didn’t treat her like an adopted daughter. They doted on her a lot, sometimes too much. She was treated like a princess… They would prepare food for her and do everything for her.

“That’s why I’m shocked, but I’m also furious. They raised her well for so many years, how can she do this?” 

 

 

Mr Lee also described the accused as a recluse who did not like to share much about her personal life.

“All I know about her is that she would change jobs like she would change clothes. She didn’t like it if her supervisors gave her more work. If she doesn’t want to do something, she wouldn’t do it," he said.

“Even during Chinese New Year, she hid in her room the entire time (we were in their flat)."

Neighbours told TODAY that the family were quiet people.

Ms Lalitha Sivalingam, 45, who lives directly beside the pair, said that she did not hear anything all night until she was woken up by her mother at 7.20am to a group of seven police officers along the common corridor. 

She added that they saw two police officers escorting a woman out of the flat at around 7.45am.

 

 

Ms Lalitha, a logistics account manager, said that she has been neighbours with the family for about 25 years, but they did not frequently speak.