Man gets life imprisonment for murdering his younger sister, who was starved, beaten and chained in toilet by trio

Warning: This article contains distressing details of severe physical abuse.

SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday (Nov 5) for murder after being part of a group that abused his 19-year-old younger sister until she died.

Huang Bocan, who joined his girlfriend and another man in starving the victim and chaining her to a toilet, was first charged in 2021 with common intention of committing murder by causing bodily injury to Huang Baoying. 

Bocan, a 34-year-old Singaporean, was convicted on Thursday of committing murder by causing his younger sister's death. 

The prolonged abuse resulted in the death of Baoying, who had lost 43 per cent of her body weight by the time she died from excessive blunt force trauma and severe malnourishment on May 5, 2021.

His co-accused are Lim Peng Tiong, 67 and Chee Mei Wan, 47. Chee was the "coach" of a company she ran that marketed and sold Herbalife products, where Bocan, Lim and Baoying were members and "trainee coaches". 

Lim was sentenced to 14 years and 11 months’ jail in May, while Chee's case is pending before the courts.

Justice Aidan Xu noted that both the prosecution and the defence took a common position, seeking life imprisonment with no caning.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Timotheus Koh and Jordy Kay said they took reference from other cases where offenders received life imprisonment but not caning.

While Justice Xu noted that there have been situations where both life imprisonment and caning were imposed, he ultimately decided that caning was not necessary.

Bocan was represented by lawyers Ms Tania Chin from Lighthouse Law and Mr Nathan Shashidran from Withers KhattarWong.

Mr Nathan said he saw his client's genuine remorse during prison visits and that he does not believe that Bocan "ever wanted his sister to die".

The fact that he "killed his own sister" was something he would have to carry with him for the rest of his life, the lawyer said.

In sentencing, Justice Xu said the trio was consumed with "power and domination" and tormented Baoying in inhumane ways. 

"This is a sad case … I cannot imagine what Baoying would have gone through. She is dead and cannot return. The accused must face the consequences of that."

Speaking directly to Bocan, the judge said his cruel abuse had caused his sister to experience torture and to lose her life. She "looked up to you, sought your protection" but he treated her in a way that was "less than human", said Justice Xu.

"You deserve to be put away for a long time. I hope you will always remember what you have done to your sister."

HOW THE GROUP FORMED

The trio and Baoying met in 2018 through Chee's company, Colourful Nutrifit, which she called a club. The victim, then aged between 16 and 17, wanted to lose weight, improve herself and earn money, the court heard.

At the time, the club operated a storefront in Clementi and the four of them would meet there to bond over their shared interest in Herbalife products, according to court documents.

The group grew close after spending time together, including travelling to Malaysia to conduct roadshows for the products, and by participating in collective weight loss challenges.

Bocan and Chee began a romantic relationship in September 2018 even though she was married.

After the club closed its storefront in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group began meeting at the siblings' home so Bocan could teach Chee how to use social media platforms and Zoom to promote her products.

The siblings later fell out with their father over their expenses related to  the company’s products and eventually moved into Lim’s home in July 2020, with Chee joining them after a dispute with her husband.

In October that year, Chee allegedly came up with a fine system for Lim’s bad habits, such as dragging his feet when he walked, which supposedly affected his marketing and sale of products.

The fines ranged from 50 cents to a few dollars. Lim agreed to the system, but Bocan and his sister were soon also subject to it.

After a month, Chee and Bocan thought the fines were ineffective and introduced physical punishments, including exercise and beatings.

Chee was the only one not punished, as she was the "coach". Meanwhile, Baoying was punished the most, and was made to perform squats for up to six hours at times.

Chee and Bocan felt that the victim's behaviour needed correction as she lacked discipline, motivation and had a poor sales performance.

PUNISHMENT ESCALATES TO ABUSE

In February 2021, the trio created a WhatsApp chat group to monitor and report Baoying’s "mistakes".

The abuse intensified in the months before her death, even as she grew visibly weak and injured. They restricted Baoying’s food intake and forced her out of the flat on some occasions which left her with no choice but to sleep in public places.

They also confined her in the toilet to "reflect on her mistakes".

Bocan took control of Baoying’s money, giving her only S$20 to S$30 a week that was intended to cover one meal a day, which was supposed to be what court documents described as "mixed vegetable rice". This was purportedly to teach her about hunger and to be grateful for her food.

At one point, Baoying was totally deprived of food for days and only allowed to drink water. 

When Bocan found out that his sister had consumed other types of food, Chee and him began confining her in the toilet for prolonged periods.

She was chained in the toilet, where she also slept and ate.

The trio also began beating Baoying with a wooden stick up to 240 times in one session, targeting areas such as the back of her calves and thighs. One of these beatings resulted in a wound on the back of her right calf, which never healed.

On another occasion, Baoying fell asleep during a church service, which Bocan and Chee also attended. At the flat, Bocan slapped her in the face about 80 times, and Lim slapped her around 50 times.

Bocan also cut the victim’s hair before chasing her out of the flat to humiliate her, knowing that she loved her long hair. She was then forced to sleep in public.

DAY BEFORE HER DEATH

By March 2021, Baoying had become weak but was still forced to perform hand raises and squats.

The day before she was killed, Baoying had failed to do squats as instructed and was punished for lying about it.

When Chee and Bocan beat her in the living room, Baoying remained silent, which the pair saw as defiance. Chee allegedly told the teen that crying would be a sign of remorse.

Baoying remained quiet, prompting the pair to poke her. Chee allegedly asked Lim to splash cold water on the victim, and Bocan later held the girl’s head under water for a few seconds.

By then, Baoying could no longer support herself in a sitting position. Chee purportedly asked Lim to fetch some rope to tie Baoying’s hands together and force her to sit upright.

Bocan stood on Baoying’s thighs to try to make her cry. Lim took over the position, but Baoying remained silent. Chee allegedly poured salt on the victim's open wound to provoke a reaction.

The abuse continued at about 11pm when Chee told the two men to take Baoying to the toilet. With her hands tied above her head, Baoying was left beneath a running tap, causing her to struggle.

She was left in this position for 15 minutes before she was untied.

In the wee hours of May 5, 2021, Bocan found that his sister had become unresponsive. He suggested taking her to the hospital, but Chee allegedly objected as she did not want the authorities involved.

They left the unresponsive girl alone until about 5am, when they again discussed taking her to the hospital.

They agreed to lie about how the incident arose. Bocan also deleted photos and videos of his sister’s wounds, as well as audio recordings that would implicate them.

Bocan called 995 at about 6.02am and was told to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on his sister. Paramedics found him doing so when they arrived at about 6.12am.

Baoying was pronounced dead minutes later. The paramedics who noticed her injuries reported the case to the police.

According to an autopsy report, Baoying died from severe malnutrition with sepsis and excessive blunt force trauma. Apart from extensive bruising, she had a large, chronic, infected abscess on her right leg.

She weighed only 27.6kg at the time of her death, down from 48.8kg before she moved into Lim’s home.

Her death was jointly caused by Bocan, Lim and Chee, according to the prosecution.

Bocan was arrested on May 5, 2021. He was assessed to have no mental illness and was not of unsound mind.

For committing murder, a person can face the death penalty, or be imprisoned for life and caned.