Beach Road slashing: Man gets 19 years’ jail, caning for attempted murder of wife
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 04 Jun 2025
Author: Selina Lum
In sentencing, the court said the relentlessness of the accused’s “vicious and cruel” attack aggravated his crime.
A 49-year-old man, who relentlessly slashed his wife outside a row of restaurants in Beach Road, was sentenced to 19 years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane on June 3.
Cheng Guoyuan had pleaded guilty on May 20 to a charge of attempted murder over the vicious attack, which took place at about 5.30pm on April 14, 2022.
He admitted that he had intended to kill Ms Han Hongli, 44, if she refused to confirm that she would not expose wrongdoing that he had committed against their daughter, 23, from her previous marriage.
Cheng admitted that he was angry with his wife for refusing to forgive him for what he had done to their daughter, and he hated that Ms Han had a hold over him.
The nature of the wrongdoing was not disclosed in court.
Ms Han, whose left hand was almost severed during the attack, is now blind in her left eye. Her face is permanently disfigured, and the functioning of her arms is impaired.
The tip of her right ring finger was also amputated.
In sentencing, Justice Audrey Lim said the relentlessness of Cheng’s “vicious and cruel” attack aggravated his crime.
The judge noted that Cheng had repeatedly slashed Ms Han with a cleaver until the blade broke off from the handle.
After Ms Han managed to run away, Cheng did not give up but went to look for her to renew his attack with another cleaver he found.
The judge also noted that Cheng did not stop despite people shouting at him and intervening by throwing objects at him.
However, she rejected the prosecution’s submission for Cheng to be jailed for life.
The prosecution had sought life imprisonment and eight to 12 strokes of the cane for Cheng, while the defence had asked for a sentence of 15 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.
Prosecutors had also argued that the public disquiet caused was amplified because the attack was widely reported by the media and received significant attention from the public.
Videos of the horrific attack were widely shared on social media and in message groups in 2022.
While Justice Lim agreed that the public disquiet caused in this case was at a “higher level”, she added that it was not logical for an offence to be considered more harmful simply because it was widely reported.
Ms Han came to Singapore to work in 2016.
Her already strained relationship with Cheng worsened after she found out in April 2021 that he had done something wrong to their daughter.
She threatened to report the matter to the Chinese police, but he pleaded with her not to do so. Both are Chinese nationals.
Ms Han told Cheng that she would not forgive him and that she would let everyone know what he had done.
She eventually agreed for Cheng to pay their daughter 40,000 yuan (S$7,200) as compensation.
Cheng remained fearful that Ms Han would tell his relatives and friends about the wrongdoing, and repeatedly sought assurances from her that she would let the matter rest.
He came to Singapore on April 6, 2022, to work as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant in Veerasamy Road without telling Ms Han.
At the time, Ms Han was working as a manager at a steamboat restaurant in Beach Road.
On April 12, 2022, Cheng came up with a plan to hack her to death with a cleaver if she refused to confirm that she would not reveal his wrongdoing. After two aborted attempts, he went to her workplace again on April 14, 2022, armed with a wooden-handled cleaver he took from work.
He started slashing her in the back lane between Liang Seah Street and Middle Road.
Ms Han’s left hand was almost severed as she tried to block the blows with her arms while screaming for help.
When the cleaver handle broke off, he pressed the blade against her neck as she lay on the ground.
Ms Han managed to run away when Cheng was distracted by other people.
He then went into the kitchen of her workplace to grab a steel-handled cleaver before running out to look for her.
He caught up with Ms Han after she tripped and fell near a car parked in front of a hotel, and continued slashing her.
As people threw various objects at him to fend him off, Cheng ran towards Beach Road but soon returned for the victim.
In the course of the attack, Cheng cut his own wrists and neck with the weapons.
He was eventually tasered by a police officer at Ms Han’s workplace after ignoring repeated instructions to surrender.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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