A 52-year-old Singaporean man appeared in the High Court on Thursday (Oct 29) to face a culpable homicide charge after fatally slashing his landlord in Yishun in July 2024, according to CNA.
Affendi Yusoff was allegedly intoxicated on almost 100 pills at the time of the attack, and both the prosecution and the defence agreed he was of unsound mind, CNA reports.
The court heard that the killing took place about a month after Affendi was released from corrective training for breaking into a building to steal a carrot and two keys.
Why it matters
The case turns on an unusual legal question: whether a man who consumed the drugs himself can be treated as having been incapable of understanding his actions.
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam said he found it difficult to reconcile three psychiatric reports that offered differing views on the state of Affendi's mind, according to CNA. He adjourned the case so that a hearing could be arranged with the relevant psychiatrist present.
Affendi had indicated he wanted to plead guilty, but the prosecution and defence jointly took the position that he was of unsound mind at the time of the offence, CNA reports.
What the court heard
Affendi was released from prison on Jun 11, 2024, having served five years of corrective training with six strokes of the cane for breaking into a building and stealing a carrot and two keys, CNA reports.
After his release, his sister arranged for him to rent a bedroom from the victim, 35-year-old Fiqri Choo Iskandar. Affendi lived with Mr Fiqri at a flat in Block 803 Yishun Ring Road. The sister, who had been Affendi's caregiver since their parents died, stayed over from time to time.
On the night of Jul 26 into the morning of Jul 27, 2024, Affendi took 90 pills containing dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, along with three gabapentin capsules, CNA reports. He had bought the pills from someone near MacPherson MRT Station.
Shortly before 7.30am on Jul 27, he took a group selfie with the victim. Then, at some point between 7.53am and 8.40am, he attacked Mr Fiqri repeatedly using three knives and a chopper.
Mr Fiqri suffered 97 injuries, including a stab wound to the chest measured at 7.5cm deep. An autopsy found the cause of death to be the chest stab wound together with incised wounds to the head.
Police responding to a call at about 8.50am found Affendi sitting beside the victim's body near the lift lobby. He was arrested on the spot.
Psychiatric evidence in dispute
The hearing centred on the medical opinions rather than the facts of the attack, which were set out in a statement of agreed facts accepted by the defence and read out by the prosecution.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Nicholas Wuan and Bryan Wong told the court that both sides accepted Affendi was incapable of knowing the nature of his actions when he attacked Mr Fiqri, CNA reports.
Justice Jeyaretnam's difficulty lay in the three reports before him, which did not speak with one voice on Affendi's mental state. The judge's decision to adjourn allows the psychiatrist behind the assessments to appear and answer questions directly.
Affendi is represented pro bono by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam and Mr Johannes Hadi of Eugene Thuraisingam Asia.
A person convicted of culpable homicide in Singapore can be sentenced to life imprisonment with caning, or to up to 20 years in prison with a fine or caning.
The case is expected to return to court once the psychiatrist's hearing has been scheduled.
