22-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) A Chinese national, Li Xin, has pleaded guilty to criminal intimidation with the intent to cause death and causing hurt by choking his Singaporean landlord. The 30-year-old hotel housekeeper pulled a knife on his 61-year-old landlord, Lin Suhua, and threatened to kill her family after she closed the door to her room while he was playing a mobile game and drinking beer. Li was sentenced to five months in jail, with two other similar charges taken into consideration during his sentencing.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Poh, Li became angry over slow Wi-Fi speeds and demanded that Lin leave her room to discuss the issue. When she refused, Li retrieved a 14cm blade knife from his shorts and dragged her into his room, where he slammed her onto the bed. After calming down, he left to speak to another tenant, but threatened to kill Lin and her entire family when she asked him why he had delayed the other tenant’s return.
After her third tenant arrived, Lin told him about the disagreement with Li, and he intervened and stopped Li from strangling her. Li continued to pound on Lin’s door and shout for her to come out after she locked herself in her room until Su’s employer arrived and called the police.
Li asked District Judge Lau Qiuyu to show leniency as he had experienced anxiety during his remand. He also cited his over ten years of work experience in Singapore and claimed he would have behaved differently had he known about the city-state’s laws.
Li could have been jailed for up to three years or fined S$5,000 (US$3,730), or both, for causing hurt by strangling, while anyone guilty of criminal intimidation to cause death can be jailed for up to ten years or fined, or both.
