SINGAPORE, July 1 — A 63‑year‑old man who poured boiling oil on his sleeping roommate and stabbed him repeatedly after months of co‑living disputes was sentenced to life imprisonment today.

The case involved Ng Boon Hong and his 61‑year‑old roommate Ang Cheng Kek, who shared a one‑room rental flat in Redhill Close, according to a report by CNA.

Ng told investigators that he “did not want the victim to die easily” and intended to inflict pain, according to facts read out in court.

The judge noted that Ng ignored Ang’s pleas to call an ambulance, including the victim’s question in Hokkien, “Why did you do this?”

Both men were unemployed and had clashed over smoking, laundry, noise at night and Ang’s girlfriend visiting the flat, which had no partition for privacy.

Ang once made a police report claiming Ng threatened to kill him after he refused to lend him money.

Ng also smashed a cupboard with a hammer after Ang tried to give it away.

On March 15, 2023, Ng woke up to Ang slamming the door and the pair exchanged vulgarities.

Ng decided he could no longer tolerate Ang and boiled cooking oil with chopped chillis, believing it would cause greater pain.

He closed the windows to reduce noise, took a knife and the pot of oil, and approached Ang while he slept.

At about 2.10am on March 16, Ng poured the boiling oil on Ang’s face, causing him to wake and stand on his bed.

Ng then stabbed Ang in the stomach, and the victim bled heavily before moving to the main door and squatting.

Ng blocked Ang from pressing the distress button meant for elderly residents and ignored his pleas for help.

He slashed Ang’s neck and left the floor covered in blood.

After confirming Ang was dead, Ng took about S$3,000 (RM9,476) from him, washed his hands, and disabled the victim’s phone by throwing it into a fish tank.

He left the flat, went to a temple along Bencoolen Street to pray and confess, and vowed to surrender after spending all the money.

Ng spent the cash on beer, expensive food and tips for Vietnamese entertainers in Geylang.

He later checked into a hotel with a woman, drank heavily and slept before surrendering to police on March 17.

Ng told officers he had killed his housemate.

Police found Ang lying in a pool of blood, and paramedics pronounced him dead that morning.

An Institute of Mental Health assessment found Ng functioned in the borderline range of intellectual activity but did not meet criteria for intellectual disability.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng said the prosecution did not object to life imprisonment.

Ng faced a murder charge punishable by death or life imprisonment, and he could not be caned because he was above 50.

His past convictions included extortion, molestation, criminal intimidation, fights in public places and voluntarily causing hurt dating back to the 1980s.

His most recent conviction was in 2020 for voluntarily causing hurt.

Ng was represented by lawyers Eugene Thuraisingam, Johannes Hadi and Ng Yuan Siang.

Hadi said Ng was deeply remorseful and noted that “one of his first acts was to go to a temple and confess to the Goddess of Mercy.”

The defence agreed that life imprisonment was appropriate.

They said Ng dropped out of school in Primary 4, had no children, and had been estranged from most of his 10 siblings for more than a decade.

Ng’s marriages had ended and he lived on the margins of society, working low‑skilled, short‑term jobs.

He had multiple medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes and hypertension, requiring 18 types of medication daily.

An assessment found Ng functioned in the bottom 5th per centile of intellectual ability for his age group.

The defence said Ng initially had an amicable relationship with Ang and had no issues with a previous co‑tenant who died in 2022.

They argued that both men lived in a cramped, deteriorating environment with little privacy and limited resources, and Ng’s cognitive limitations made him ill‑equipped to manage the situation.

Justice Dedar Singh Gill said Ng intended to inflict pain and noted that Ang suffered 35 injuries, including 24 knife wounds.

He said the boiling oil caused sharp pain but did not contribute to the cause of death.

The judge considered Ng’s remorse and surrender and ruled that the death penalty was not warranted, imposing life imprisonment instead.

Ng was allowed to speak briefly with his younger brother before being taken away.