• Tan Nam Seng pleaded guilty to one charge of committing an offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder
• He was troubled after finding out that his son-in-law had had an affair
• He also believed that his son-in-law would cheat him of his business 
• He stabbed his victim in broad daylight at a coffee shop in the Central Business District

SINGAPORE — “I am old already, I am not scared of going to jail.” These were among the words uttered by Tan Nam Seng three years ago after he had stabbed his son-in-law thrice along Boon Tat Street, the court heard on Thursday (Aug 20).

The high-profile incident took place on July 10, 2017 before a lunchtime crowd in the middle of the Central Business District.

The court heard that after 38-year-old Spencer Sanjay Tuppani Shamlal Tuppani collapsed outside a restaurant, its staff members had rushed forward to help, but Tan pushed them away and said: “This is my son-in-law. Don’t help him. Let him die.” 

He also told passers-by to stay away, adding, “He has come here to die” and “I wish to kill him”. 

Before the police arrived, he called his daughter, Tuppani’s wife, and said: “I can’t sleep at night. I have done it. I have killed him. Don’t cry. I am old already. I am not scared of going to jail.” 

When she cried and told him not to do anything rash, he replied: “What is done cannot be undone.”

These details emerged as Tan, 72, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge of committing an offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. 

Tuppani married Tan’s daughter Shyller Tan in 2005 and later joined the Tan family business.

The court heard that Tan was angry with Tuppani because he felt that the man had mistreated his daughter, and he believed that Tuppani would cheat him of his business, too.

In 2016, Tuppani proposed selling the family business to a bigger corporation, GKE Corporation, and persuaded Tan and a few other shareholders to assign their shares to him so as to boost his stake ahead of the sale.

Tuppani was then appointed chief executive officer of the new company, but Tan found that he would only get S$450,000 from the sale of his shares, lower than what he had expected.

Tensions rose further in April 2017 when he found out that Tuppani, who had three children with Ms Tan, was having an affair and had two children from the affair. 

During Tuppani and Ms Tan's divorce proceedings, Tan discovered that Tuppani was recording his arguments and conversations with his daughter, and suspected that he intended to use them as evidence to seek custody of their children and avoid paying alimony. 

The final straw for Tan came on July 4, 2017, when Tuppani suspended Tan’s other daughter Sherry Tan from her position in the family business following a dispute between her and Tuppani’s personal assistant.

The next day, Tan arranged to meet Tuppani to discuss Ms Sherry Tan’s suspension, but Tuppani cancelled the meeting, saying that he had other business matters to attend to and did not follow up to rearrange the meeting.

By this point, Tan was thinking excessively about Tuppani’s actions and was unable to sleep at night, and he felt that Tuppani was deliberately avoiding and disrespecting him. 

This was the last time they communicated.

THE STABBING

On July 10 in 2017, Tan was on the way to the company’s office at Cecil Court when he spotted Tuppani having a meal with three friends at a nearby coffee shop at 121 Telok Ayer Street.

He then headed to the office’s pantry to look for a knife, put it in his sling bag, then headed to the coffee shop on foot. 

Upon seeing Tan, Tuppani greeted him “Pa”. 

Tan asked why Tuppani was not speaking to him and if he had anything to say, then remarked in Hokkien: “You are too much.” 

Before the younger man could respond, Tan pulled out the knife and stabbed Tuppani three times in his chest in quick succession. 

After being stabbed, Tuppani ran towards Boon Tat Street and collapsed along the pavement outside A Poke Theory restaurant.

While he was on the floor, Tan forcefully kicked his face thrice before placing his bloodied weapon, a 22cm-long knife, on a table beside him. He then sat on a chair to wait for the police to arrive.

Tan was calmly seated when two police officers arrived. Before the policemen even started talking to him, Tan pointed to the knife and his son-in-law lying 5m away from him and said: “The knife is there… There is my son-in-law.”

He then admitted to stabbing Tuppani.

A psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) later found that Tan was suffering from a major depressive disorder and was experiencing a major depressive episode at the time of the offence.

He was in a pervasive dysphoric state, had a diminished ability to concentrate, negative cognition of helplessness, as well as overwhelming ruminations and worries of the well-being of his daughters, the report noted.

Dr Jason Lee Kim Huat, an associate consultant with IMH’s Department of General and Forensic Psychiatry, listed these as factors that “would have adversely affected his impulse control and judgement” and “significantly impaired his mental responsibility” for the murder.

Tan’s sentencing will take place at a later date. 

He may be jailed for life, or up to 20 years for committing culpable homicide with the intention of causing death.