Man charged over dad's death says he was afraid dad could use sword on him
He weighed 68kg when he died last year after a scuffle with his son.
Mr Tan Kok Keng, 67, was 38 years older than his son, businessman Mark Tan Peng Liat, who tipped the scales at around 100kg during their alleged scuffle in their West Coast Rise semi-detached house.
On the sixth day of Tan's culpable homicide trial yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohulabalan told the court that Tan suffered seven injuries following the fight.
He also said that Tan's largest injuries were two 2cm abrasions on his left foot.
In contrast, the court heard on Monday that his father suffered 31 external injuries.
He also had internal injuries to his neck, including a fractured thyroid cartilage near the Adam's apple.
In his cross-examination yesterday, DPP Kumaresan highlighted that Mr Tan's external injuries included a bruise that measured 19.5cm by 8cm on his right arm.
He also had another bruise that measured 4cm by 5cm on his scalp.
When he asked Tan if he agreed that his father suffered more serious injuries than he did, Tan replied: "Yes."
HEADLOCK
He is accused of killing his father after restraining him in a headlock and chokehold at around 5.30pm on Feb 10 last year.
Tan, who is represented by lawyer Derek Kang, was originally charged with murder on Feb 12 last year.
The charge was reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder about eight months later. He is also accused of having 15 airsoft guns without a licence.
The court heard on Wednesday that the elder Mr Tan, who had a black belt in taekwondo, often kept himself fit by performing cardio exercises and engaging in sparring activities with his son.
Because of these, Tan told District Judge Eddy Tham yesterday that his father had said he was in better physical condition than most 30-year-olds.
He also testified that his father was a very bad-tempered man.
He added: "When my dad got angry, reason would not play a part in his mind."
On Wednesday, the court also heard that the two men got into a scuffle after Mr Tan accused his son of stealing from him.
After his arrest, Tan told the police and an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist that over five years, he had been making regular withdrawals of up to $5,000 per transaction from a joint bank account that he shared with his father and sister.
Yesterday, the court heard that all three of them shared two joint accounts and they contained about $100,000 in total. The elder Mr Tan was the sole contributor to the accounts.
Tan said that, at first, he used to ask for his father's permission before making any withdrawals and Mr Tan always allowed them.
Assuming that his father would always allow such transactions, Tan added that he later stopped telling him about them.
On Wednesday, Tan said he restrained Mr Tan in a headlock and chokehold in the master bedroom on Feb 10 last year as he did not want his father to get hold of some swords that were kept around their home.
Yesterday, he told Judge Tham: "I would not put it past him (that he would not use the swords). I was not willing to take the risk."
When DPP Kumaresan asked him if he knew then that manually compressing his father's neck could harm the blood vessels there and constrict his breathing, Tan replied: "No."
The case has been adjourned and its pre-trial conference will be held on Oct 24.
If found guilty, Tan can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined or caned.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
