A murderer who was sent to prison after killing her ex-boyfriend’s wife and severely injuring his mother and five-year-old son last year at Pat Tat Sun Chuen estate has had her sentence confirmed by the Court of Final Appeal (TUI).
According to information released by the court, “A”, a mainlander, was dating “B” in 2011 until they split up in 2012. Neither of the parties in the case has been named.
“A” believed that “B” had been secretly poisoning her while they were dating, which she thought had caused her health to deteriorate.
“B” denied the accusation, but “A” insisted that “B” had been mistreating her in the relationship. Since the break-up “A” had planned to take revenge on “B” by killing his family.
On 14 January last year, “A” decided to take action, concocting a plan of mass murder.
She carried two awls (a small pointed tool) and a pocket knife inside a backpack when she came to Macao from the mainland on 19 January last year.
On the way to her ex-boyfriend’s apartment, she bought chilli powder and a long knife with a black handle. She then waited outside the front door of her former lover’s apartment.
When “B’s” mother returned to the flat, “A” sneaked in; after discovering that her ex-boyfriend was not at home, she started to talk to the family in a “friendly” way. When she had won everyone’s confidence, she pulled out the long knife and the awls and launched a frenzied attack on “B’s” wife, mother and son.
The wife died at the scene while the mother and son were severely injured.
The Court of First Instance charged “A” with aggravated homicide, possessing a banned weapon and failed aggravated homicide, and sentenced her to 24 years’ imprisonment. “A” was unhappy with the length of the penalty and appealed to the Court of Second Instance, which turned down the appeal, so she took her case to the Court of Final Appeal. “A” claimed she was delusional and had mental problems, so she should not be “harshly penalised”.
However, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that “A” had been holding a grudge over something that had never happened, the motive was based on a false accusation, and her revenge scheme was carefully planned for more than 24 hours.
The court added that “A” did not just decide to put the plan in action by preparing lethal weapons and items at the scene, she also considered the difficulty of executing the plan.
“A” first duped the family by appearing to be “friendly”, then used sharp tools to attack the victims’ bodies, stabbing them repeatedly in the chest, neck, stomach and other vital parts. “A” even hurt a five-year-old boy, who was not able to defend himself.
The court decided that all the evidence showed that “A” had committed a serious crime and there was no reason why “A” deserved to have her sentence reduced. Moreover, “A” claimed that she was delusional and suffered from mental illness which led to the event, but the court said that it was not a valid reason to reduce the culpability of her criminal act.
According to the Macao Penal Code’s Article 40 “Purposes of penalties and security measures”, Article 65 “Determination of penalty measures” and Article 70 “Aggravation”, as well as considering “A’s” personality, motive, crime and method of killing, the TUI’s panel of judges decided that the punishment was not “too harsh”.
As a result, since “A’s” evidence did not constitute mitigating circumstances, the court decided to keep the lower court’s judgement unchanged and therefore put her behind bars for 24 years.
In exceptional circumstances, the maximum prison term amounts to 30 years in Macao. Capital punishment, life imprisonment and indefinite detention are prohibited by law, The Macau Post Daily reported.
