Man who was on the run for over 12 years following 2011 knife attack pleads guilty to assault

Singapore Law Watch

02-05-2025

Man who was on the run for over 12 years following 2011 knife attack pleads guilty to assault
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 01 May 2025
Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib
A man, who fled Singapore in early 2011 after slashing another man across the chest and abdomen, gave himself up to the authorities more than 12 years later in October 2023 as he missed his family.
A man, who fled Singapore in early 2011 after slashing another man across the chest and abdomen, gave himself up to the authorities more than 12 years later in October 2023 as he missed his family.
On April 30, Teo Lye Chye, 60, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including assault and leaving Singapore from an unauthorised place.
The Singaporean barged into his wife's bedroom in her Ang Mo Kio flat at around 6am on Jan 25, 2011, where she and the 50-year-old victim were sleeping. Teo attacked the man with a knife brought from his home.
Teo's wife and daughter had earlier been drinking with the victim and his daughter in the flat from about 1am.
Teo's 20-year-old son saw the man behaving intimately with Teo's wife, and a dispute broke out between the family members at around 3am.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Intan Suhaily Abu Bakar said the son was asked to leave the flat about two hours later.
The DPP added: 'The accused's son packed his belongings and left the (flat) together with his fiancee and their two-month-old baby. At the void deck of the block, the accused's son called the accused and informed him about the incident.'
Asking his son to wait at the block, Teo took a kitchen knife and headed to his wife's home. Teo, who was living in a rented unit in Toa Payoh at the time, arrived at around 6am. The son was unaware that his father had a knife, the court heard.
At the flat, the son rang the doorbell, and Teo's younger son opened the door.
Teo and his older son walked towards a bedroom, where Teo's wife and the victim were sleeping. They kicked the door open, and Teo slashed the man once across his chest and abdomen.
DPP Intan told the court: 'The victim felt pain and saw that he was bleeding and that his intestines were coming out of the wound. The victim sat down on a sofa and applied pressure on the wound.'
Teo ran out of the flat, throwing the knife into a rubbish bin, and boarded a taxi.
He left Singapore from a jetty in Changi, and ended up in Malaysia. The DPP did not disclose further details as to how Teo left the country.
Police officers patrolling the area near his wife's home responded to calls for help shortly before 6.30am.
The victim was taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He underwent surgery for his injuries, which included a lacerated spleen, and was discharged on Jan 28, 2011.
Court documents did not disclose the state of Teo's marriage at the time of the incident.
The victim has recovered but now has a permanent scar on his abdomen.
The DPP said Teo surrendered himself on Oct 17, 2023, and was charged in court in 2024. He will be sentenced on May 15.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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