Beach Road slashing: Man pleads guilty to attempted murder of wife in 2022

A 49-year-old man who relentlessly slashed his wife in a vicious attack in Beach Road in 2022 pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder on May 20.

Cheng Guoyuan attacked Ms Han Hongli, 44, because he did not want to risk her exposing wrongdoing he had committed against their daughter, 23, from her previous marriage, the court was told.

The nature of the wrongdoing was not stated in court.

Ms Han and Cheng, who are from China, have a son who is 19.

Ms Han, whose left hand was almost severed during the attack as she defended herself, 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.

Cheng told the court through a Mandarin interpreter: “I am very remorseful. I have done something wrong, and I admit (it).”

The attack took place on April 14, 2022, outside a row of shops and restaurants at about 5.30pm.

The prosecution sought a sentence of life imprisonment and eight to 12 strokes of the cane for Cheng, saying that severe harm was caused and that Cheng’s culpability was very high.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said videos of the attack circulated online, as well as extensive media coverage, had amplified the public disquiet caused.

Cheng’s lawyer, Mr Johannes Hadi, asked for a sentence of 15 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.

He said caution needed to be exercised in trying to quantify the level of public disquiet in different cases and then relying on this to make a submission on the severity of harm.

Justice Audrey Lim noted the points from both sides. She noted that in this day and age, it is much easier to spread information because of social media.

She will give her decision on the sentence on June 3.

Ms Han came to Singapore to work in 2016, remitting about 10,000 yuan (S$1,800) back to Cheng every two months.

Their relationship became strained over time, and Cheng felt that his wife looked down on him because he did not earn as much as she did. 

In April 2021, Ms Han found out from her brother and her daughter that Cheng had done something wrong to their daughter.

She called Cheng and threatened to report the matter to the Chinese police, but he pleaded with her not to do so.

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 as compensation.

The couple’s relationship turned acrimonious.

Ms Han stopped remitting money to Cheng, and he faced financial woes after borrowing money to pay the compensation to his stepdaughter.

He became fearful that Ms Han would tell his relatives and friends about the wrongdoing, and kept asking her to let the matter rest.

Cheng came to Singapore on April 6, 2022, to work at a restaurant in Veerasamy Road without telling Ms Han.

On April 12, 2022, he came up with a plan to chop her to death with a cleaver if she refused to confirm that she would not reveal his wrongdoing.

He took a bus to her workplace, a steamboat restaurant in Beach Road, but she was not there.

The next day, he took a cleaver with a wooden handle from his workplace and put it in his bag.

He took the bag with him to Ms Han’s workplace, but lost his nerve and instead sat at a bus stop for half an hour.

On April 14, 2022, he went to Ms Han’s workplace again, carrying the bag containing the cleaver and their marriage certificate.

Ms Han was shocked when she saw him.

In a back lane between Liang Seah Street and Middle Road, Cheng told her to go with him to the Chinese embassy to get a divorce.

She said she did not have time as she was working but was willing to go another day.

Angered by the reply, he grabbed her hair and took out the cleaver.

He repeatedly slashed her head, as she tried to block the blows with her arms while screaming for help.

Cheng slashed her until the blade broke off from its handle. By this time, Ms Han’s left hand was almost severed.

He then pressed the blade against her neck as she lay on the floor, but she managed to run away when he was distracted by bystanders.

Cheng then cut his wrist with the blade a few times before dropping it. He entered the kitchen, grabbed a steel-handled cleaver, and ran 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 bystanders threw objects at him, Cheng ran away towards Beach Road but soon returned for the victim.

Eventually, he went back to Ms Han’s workplace, cutting his neck and wrists along the way.

He used his phone to transfer sums of money to his son and elder brother shortly before he was tasered by police officers.

As video footage of the attack from various angles was played in court, Cheng wailed and covered his face with his hands.

The court session was paused for 10 minutes when he bent over and made retching sounds.

Videos of the horrific attack went viral in 2022.

Restaurant workers and technicians threw plastic chairs and bins at Cheng and warded him off with ladders and metal signposts to keep him away from Ms Han.

Nine men were commended for their bravery.

In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times three months after the attack, Ms Han had said she hoped to continue working in Singapore and wanted her children to further their studies.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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