A 49-year-old former property agent was executed on April 16, 2025, at Changi Prison Complex for killing his pregnant wife and four-year-old daughter in 2017, according to the Singapore Prison Service.
Teo Ghim Heng killed his wife Choong Pei Shan, 39, who was six months pregnant, and their daughter Zi Ning in their Woodlands flat on January 20, 2017. He burned their bodies a week later.
The Singapore Police Force said Teo “was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel both at the trial and at the appeal.” His clemency petitions to the President were rejected.
Police stated that capital punishment is only imposed for the most serious crimes in Singapore, including murder.
Financial Problems and the Murders
Teo was a successful property agent from 2011 to 2013, earning between S$10,000 to S$15,000 monthly during the property market boom. His income dropped significantly in 2015 when the market slowed down.
By late 2016, Teo worked as a sales coordinator at a renovation company. Despite his lower income, the family’s expenses stayed the same, partly due to his gambling habit.
By the end of 2016, Teo had debts of about S$120,000. He put their Woodlands flat up for sale and planned to sell his car.
On January 18, 2017, the couple argued about money. During this fight, Teo mentioned an extramarital affair Madam Choong had in 2014.
Two days later, Teo decided not to send Zi Ning to school because her fees were overdue.
When Madam Choong learned this, she scolded him and called him “useless” during an argument in their bedroom.
Teo strangled his wife with a bath towel before using his hands to make sure she was dead when he noticed she was still breathing faintly. He then strangled his daughter the same way.
After the Murders and Court Proceedings
After the killings, Teo slept on the same bed as the bodies for one week with the air-conditioner on to slow decomposition.
He later set the bodies on fire and said he had tried to kill himself in the blaze but stopped because the heat was too intense. He also bought air fresheners to hide the smell.
The deaths were discovered on January 28, 2017, the first day of Chinese New Year, after Madam Choong’s family became worried about their absence and called the police.
In November 2020, the High Court convicted Teo of two counts of murder and sentenced him to death. A third charge of killing his unborn son was dropped by the prosecution.
In his defense, Teo claimed he had depression, which reduced his responsibility, and asked to be convicted of culpable homicide instead.
The judge rejected the defense’s arguments that Teo had been provoked and lost control after his wife criticized him.
The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in February 2022, noting that Teo had covered up his actions after the murders.
He falsely claimed that he and Madam Choong had made a suicide pact and created fake suicide notes. He also lied to relatives about why the family missed Chinese New Year celebrations.
The court found that Teo did not have major depressive disorder and could not use that as a defense.
