Man accused of murdering wife in Boon Lay has charge reduced

A man accused of murdering his wife last year had his murder charge reduced yesterday to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to her.

Chinese national Cui Huan, now 25, is now accused of pushing Ms Liang Xueqiu, 26, to the ground and then raining blows on her head and neck, causing her death.

Court documents did not disclose details of her injuries and the cause of death.

Cui is said to have committed the offence on a footpath near Block 211 Boon Lay Place around 6.30pm on Aug 27 last year.

For murder, an offender either faces the death sentence or can be jailed for life and caned.

If convicted of his reduced charge, Cui can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.

The police earlier said they received a call about the incident around 6.30pm on Aug 27 last year.

Officers found Ms Liang injured and lying motionless at the scene.

She was unconscious when taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and was pronounced dead at around 10pm that day.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Jurong Police Division arrested Cui within three hours of the reported incident.

The next day, several residents of a nearby block of flats told The Straits Times that police officers had cordoned off the crime scene on the night of the incident.

Resident Mohamed Nasrullah, then 20, said he rushed out of his home to try to help Ms Liang after his younger brother told him about a woman lying motionless on the ground floor.

He added that there were about 10 bystanders when he arrived at the scene, but no one had called the police.

He called the police and officers arrived soon after. Another resident also alerted the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Mr Mohamed also told ST that he had never seen Ms Liang in the neighbourhood prior to the incident and was surprised when told that she had died.

Yesterday, the court heard that Cui is expected to plead guilty next month.