SINGAPORE, Aug 29 — A Singapore judge has set a five-year notional imprisonment period for a 90-year-old man who was found unfit to stand trial over the alleged killing of his wife due to severe cognitive impairment, The Straits Times reported.

Contrary to its name, a notional imprisonment period is not a prison sentence, as Ridawi Morsudin has not been convicted, but sets the maximum period of confinement that the Law Minister can order under Singapore law.

The minister will decide whether Ridawi should be confined in a psychiatric institution, another place of safe custody or released conditionally, with the 90-year-old remaining at the Changi Prison Complex Medical Centre pending the decision.

Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said six years would have been an appropriate starting point but reduced it by one year after considering doctors’ assessment that Ridawi was at low risk of reoffending and now completely dependent on others for daily care.

She rejected the defence’s argument for a two- to three-year period based on Ridawi’s age and declining health.

“The accused was able to kill his wife in a forceful and brutal manner when he was 88 years old, and he was strong and dangerous while in a fit of delirium,” the judge was quoted as saying.

Ridawi is accused of killing his 74-year-old wife, Aminah Abdul, at their Bukit Panjang flat between the evening of June 4, 2024 and early the next day.

Aminah suffered at least 34 slash and stab wounds, with fractures to her skull, neck, spine and ribs, according to an autopsy.

Ridawi’s mental faculties had deteriorated noticeably from 2022, with court documents stating that he became increasingly aggressive, could no longer recognise family members and repeatedly wandered off and became lost.

He was diagnosed with mixed dementia after being hospitalised in early 2024 and was later enrolled at a day-care centre for seniors with dementia, but was discharged after becoming increasingly uncooperative.

He was subsequently left at home while his children took turns delivering meals, with a CCTV camera installed to monitor him.

On the night of the killing, Ridawi’s grandson saw through the live feed that Aminah was lying in a pool of blood, while Ridawi stood behind his recliner.

When his grandson rushed home, Ridawi reportedly told him: “That person (is) no longer alive. It’s too late.”