Singaporeans In The New Jersey Murder Trial
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the accused gambled heavily in the U.S.
his childhood friend offered him a job and took care of him when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001.
the accused returned his friendship by killing his wife.
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Oct 14, 2006
The Straits Times
MR HUI Soon Fook broke down in tears in a New Jersey court yesterday as he remembered his murdered wife's final hours - and his broken friendship with the man now on trial for killing her.
Mr Hui took the stand on the second day of the trial of Singaporean Teo Sheng Kwee, who faces a maximum of life imprisonment for killing Ms Tan Nee Nee.
Teo confessed to beating and strangling 35-year-old Ms Tan to death in her home on Nov 11, 2004.
In the county court of Middlesex, the area where he and Ms Tan lived, Mr Hui yesterday told the jury that the two men's close friendship had been strained by Teo's gambling habit and constant requests for money.
The two old school friends had shared an apartment in New York for two years when Teo moved to the United States in 1992. Mr Hui also gave Teo his first job, as a runner in his restaurant, and took care of him when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001.
Under the direction of the county's assistant prosecutor Christie Bevacqua, Mr Hui testified that Teo had moved to New York to 'escape his gambling debts'.
'He wanted to settle down with a new life, start everything fresh,' he said.
But he said that a few years after moving to the US, Teo stopped coming to work and started gambling heavily on sports and horse-racing.
'He started asking me for money,' he said. Mr Hui, who now owns three thriving eateries, said he helped him because they were childhood friends. But he finally cut Teo off in 2003 after he bought a home with Ms Tan whom he married in 2000. They were planning to come to Singapore for a traditional wedding in end-2004.
It is not clear if Teo had been in debt at the time of the murder, but in his confession he told police he had gone to Mr Hui and Ms Tan's house that night to borrow money to pay for his medical expenses.
Mr Hui broke down when asked about his wife's last day.
'The day started like every day,' he said. 'We had breakfast, and left for work together.'
Mr Hui said his wife had asked him in the morning to go with her to a town meeting in the evening, but he had already made plans to entertain a friend at his restaurant.
He last spoke to her at 10.30pm, when he called to say he would be home soon.
'Everything seemed fine. She told me she bought me some maple syrup. She was a bit upset that I missed the meeting, so she asked me to buy her a lottery ticket on my way home.
'That always made her happy,' said Mr Hui, in between tears.
He arrived home around midnight and said he was surprised to find his wife's Lexus missing from the driveway. But surprise turned to panic when he saw smoke coming out of the garage.
He ran into the house, yelling for his wife. When he couldn't find her, he called the police.
It was only after the police arrived and searched the house that Mr Hui saw her body, covered with a bedsheet, on the floor of their kitchen.
'I put my hands on her face and tried to wake her. She was still so warm, but she wasn't breathing.'
The trial continues on Monday