Tan Chee Wee, 30, was sentenced to death by a court...

Tan Chee Wee, 30, was sentenced to death by a court in Singapore for murdering a woman during a house robbery on 9 January 2003. Tan alleged he had gone to Madam Thabun Pranee's home to just rob, not kill. A claim Justice Woo Bih Li did not believe. Justice Woo also rejected his claim that when he left Madam Thabun's flat, she was still conscious and so he kept the entrance door open for easy access by anyone who answered her call for help. Tan had said that he struck Madam Thabun, 26, on the head 'once or twice' with a hammer but a forensic pathologist found 18 scalp wounds. Justice Woo had no doubt he inflicted them: "He did this to silence her. The accused was no helpful and thoughtful robber but a violent and merciless one." He was also not convinced that Madam Thabun, a Thai, had offered to have sex with Tan who, he said, must have threatened her. Tan, a gambler with debts of $11,000, had convinced Madam Thabun into letting him into her flat saying he wanted to use the toilet. After the murder conviction, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun withdrew the other charges of rape, robbery and theft.