A 50-year-old Singaporean man has admitted to killing his wife, Pek Ying Ling in a Newcastle city centre luxury apartment complex while they were on holiday last December.
Fifty-year-old Soong Hert Fong pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared at the hearing via a video link last Friday (Mar 18), a BBC report says. However, he denied that he murdered his wife, Pek Ying Ling.
He is scheduled to go on trial on 6 June.
Madam Pek, 51, was discovered not breathing at the County Aparthotel, Westgate Road, at 7:15 am (3:15 pm Singapore time) on Dec 6, 2021.
A short time later, emergency crews pronounced her dead.
Soong was arrested soon afterwards. He is currently still on remand in the UK.
At the time of Mdm Pek Ying Ling’s death, a spokesman for the Newcastle police said, “Sadly, despite attempts to save her life, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.”
Alerted by an emergency call, the police had gone to the hotel on Monday out of concern for Mdm Pek’s welfare.
Fong was arrested at the scene and charged with the murder of his wife. He appeared before Newcastle magistrates on Dec 7 and was remanded in custody.
The couple had been visiting England and are described in the UK media as tourists. According to The Straits Times, the couple had been married for more than 27 years and worked in Epic Times, an events management company.
She is listed as the director of the company and he, as its secretary. He is also the director of three other firms in the same industry – Evolution Werks, Knowledge connection and Marque Ventures.
Under UK law, Fong could spend the rest of his life in jail if he is convicted of murder.
ST quotes Mr Alexis Fong, 24, the youngest son of the couple, as saying that after on the day before Mdm Pek was discovered dead, his parents had been to the hospital because his father had gone for a check-up.
“My mum had texted earlier that day saying that my dad collapsed three times in 18 hours. So she got an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
“After going through some checks, my dad was given some medication and returned to the apartment,” he said.
Several hours later, he learned of his mother’s death from his older brother. /TISG
Singapore woman dies in UK hotel, husband arrested for murder
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