The man who beat his wife’s ex-lover to death with a hammer-like object after forcing him into a van was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday (4 August).

Chia Kee Chen, 56, was motivated and had intended to kill Dexmon Chua Yizhi, 37, but there was a possibility that the fatal blow was dealt by his accomplice, Febri Irwansyah Djatmiko, said Justice Choo Han Teck, according to a report in The Straits Times. Febri fled Singapore after the fatal attack.

Chia was convicted of murder in January this year after he was found guilty of assaulting Dexmon viciously with a hammer-like object. Chua later died from blunt force head injuries, as nearly all the bones in his face were fractured.

Chia’s wife Serene Goh and Dexmon were colleagues at a packaging factory. They became lovers in 2011 and Chia discovered the affair a year later. Goh promised to end the relationship but told Chia she was afraid that Dexmon would distribute videos of them engaged in sexual intercourse. Chia assured his wife that he would retrieve the thumb drive in which Dexmon kept the videos.

Between 28 and 29 December 2013 with the help of two accomplices, Indonesian Febri Irwansyah Djatmiko and Chua Leong Aik, Chia abducted the victim in a Choa Chu Kang carpark by forcing him into the van, and assaulted him.

Febri joined Chia in the attack while Leong Aik drove the van. Leong Aik left the van midway through the act. After attacking Dexmon, Chia then dumped him at a military live firing area in Lim Chu Kang. Chia led police to the body after he was arrested.

The prosecution had asked for the death penalty due to the savage nature of the attack and the premeditation involved. Chia’s lawyer Anand Nalachandran sought life imprisonment for Chia, whom he said only intended to abduct but not kill Dexmon.

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