SINGAPORE — The man who strangled his lover to death at a secluded spot at Gardens by the Bay East, then burned her body over three days, was sentenced to life behind bars on Monday (Aug 19).

Former retail outlet manager Leslie Khoo Kwee Hock, 51, was found guilty last month of the 2016 murder. He faced either life imprisonment or the death penalty. 

As he is above 50 years old, he cannot be caned by law.

During the 11-day trial, the High Court heard how Khoo had killed his former lover Cui Yajie, a 31-year-old Chinese engineer, on July 12, 2016. After strangling her, he took her body to a remote spot in Lim Chu Kang and burnt it over three days, until nothing was left but some of her hair, a brassiere hook and bits of charred fabric from her dress. 

Khoo, who is married and a father, had fed her many lies during their relationship. He told her that he was single and that he owned the laundry firm he worked for. 

He also tricked her into giving him S$20,000, which he claimed would go towards “gold investments”.

This was only the second case in Singapore’s legal history since 1966 where an offender was convicted of murder in the absence of a body.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair, had sought life imprisonment for Khoo, writing in their sentencing submissions that “his absolute disposal of the body... shed little light on the extent of savagery or brutality of the attack”.

In handing down the sentence on Monday, Justice Audrey Lim noted that there was “no evidence it was a sustained onslaught”, and said that she was not satisfied the death penalty was warranted, which is imposed when offenders show viciousness or a blatant disregard for human life.

NO EVIDENCE OF BRUTALITY

Justice Lim had earlier found that Khoo had a motive to kill Cui — to rid himself of financial pressure and the threat of exposure that she posed to him.

He had killed her after arguing with her in his BMW at Gardens by the Bay, because she was threatening to expose his lies to his bosses. 

While he had testified to being in a hazy and confused state at the time, Justice Lim ruled that he had not lost control while reaching for her neck and strangling her.

Nevertheless, she said on Monday that there was no evidence to suggest that Khoo had planned to kill Cui that day. 

He was “likely caught unaware” of Cui’s intentions to confront his bosses and had decided to take her to the gardens to calm her down, she said.

“There was no evidence to show his act was brutal. While I found that he compressed her neck with great force, I was unable to conclude how long he did so,” Justice Lim told the court.

“Even if he had not called for help after seeing her motionless and went to great lengths to dispose of her body, this would not be relevant for sentencing purposes,” she added.

In their sentencing submissions, prosecutors described Khoo as someone who, “for a good part of his adult life, deceived and swindled his wife, his employers and colleagues, his business partners and lovers”.

“It is difficult to imagine a more contemptible and loathsome man than the accused… Egregiously, he appears to have no remorse for his odious and manipulative behaviour, justifying it by claiming that he was ‘doing all the good things’ to ‘build up an empire’, and be a ‘good employee, good husband, good father’,” the prosecution added.

Khoo still faces charges of cheating and embezzlement. Among those, he is accused of swindling about S$65,000 from four other women, some of whom had had extramarital affairs with him.

He previously served 16 months in jail in 2011 for criminal breach of trust.

ABOUT THE MURDER CASE

On the morning of the killing, Cui had threatened to go to Khoo’s workplace in Tuas to speak to his bosses. Khoo tried to dissuade her, but she was determined.

He decided to intercept her at Joo Koon MRT Station, the station nearest to his workplace. There, he told her he would take her to see his supervisor and she boarded his car.

Instead, he drove her to Gardens by the Bay and as she sat in the front passenger seat, he strangled her until she stopped moving.

He then bought charcoal and kerosene from two shops along Kranji Road and headed to Lim Chu Kang Lane 8, where he placed her body under a metal canopy and burnt it for the next three days.

During those three days, he would visit the site occasionally to feed more charcoal and kerosene to the fire. 

He also discarded her belongings in Orchid Country Club, but not before taking S$30 from her wallet and cutting up her credit cards.

It was only on the afternoon of July 14, 2016 — when Cui had not turned up for work for three days — that her worried colleagues made a police report about her disappearance, after calling her parents and visiting her flat.

The police later established that Khoo was the last person who had interacted with Cui. He was arrested on July 20, 2016.