Location: Singapore – Disability Day of Mourning

Ashton and Ethan Yap

Flowers left at a green railing in front of a shallow canal. There are three bouquets of yellow flowers and a line of white roses. Name: Ashton Yap Kai Shern.
Name: Ethan Yap E Chern.

Died: January 21, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: ADHD, autism.

Details:
Ashton and Ethan were twin brothers whose bodies were found in a canal near a playground. Their father was arrested on suspicion of having killed them.

Case Status:
Xavier Yap Jung Houn (Father), convicted of 2 counts of culpable homicide, sentenced to 14 years.

Sources:
Father gets 14 years in jail for killing autistic twin sons
Greenridge Cres killings: Father of twin boys to plead guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder
Man, 49, to plead guilty to culpable homicide for strangling twin sons, 11, in Upper Bukit Timah
Death of Upper Bukit Timah twins: Father to plead guilty to culpable homicide
Dad Accused of Killing His 2 Sons at Greenridge Playground Has Murder Charges Reduced to Culpable Homicide
Dad accused of strangling Singapore twin sons no longer facing the death penalty | Coconuts
Man who allegedly strangled twin sons gets murder charges reduced to culpable homicide » Borneo Bulletin Online
Twins found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal: Father handed second murder charge
Autism Memorial: Ashton and Ethan Yap
Twins found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal: Father accused of murder hires new lawyers
More Details Have Emerged About the Murder of the 2 Greenridge Crescent Boys
Greenridge Crescent boys’ deaths: 48-year-old father faces second murder charge
Twins found dead: SG Enable urges stressed caregivers of children with special needs to seek help | The Straits Times
Bodies of 11-year-old twins found in canal near Upper Bukit Timah playground | The Straits Times
Caregivers of children with special needs ‘may face burnout or feel emotionally burdened’: SG Enable
Father arrested after twin boys found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal, to be charged with murder | The Straits Times
Twin Boys With Special Needs Found Dead In Canal, Father Charged With Murder
9 New Facts About the Twin Boys Murder Found in Upper Bukit Timah Canal

Sotaro Ogata

No Photo Name: Sotaro Ogata.
Died: November 14, 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Bukit Timah, Singapore.
Disability: Autism, ADHD.

Details:
Sotaro was strangled by his mother, who then killed herself.

His family had moved to Singapore from Japan. His father, a businessman, had been away on a business trip when Sotaro was murdered. Sotaro’s brother, Haruto, survived unharmed.

Case status:
Nami Ogata (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Sotaro Ogata
Depressed mum sought help before killing autistic son and herself
Bukit Timah double deaths: Japanese woman with depression strangled son, 5, & stabbed herself to death
Woman found dead near Bukit Batok Nature Park suffered from major depressive disorder before killing young son: Coroner

No Photo Name: Desiree Jiaping Tan.
Died: November 19, 2018.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Anxiety disorder (Agoraphobia, health anxiety, panic attacks).

Details:
Desiree’s father beat her with a metal pole, then strangled her. The court decided that he had done so due to caregiver stress, and allowed a defense of diminished responsibility.

Desiree was a university graduate. Due to her mental illness, she was unable to leave home by herself and could not find a job.

Case status:
Tian Chye Tan (Father), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder; sentenced to two years and nine months in jail, released on time served.

Source:
Father gets jail for killing mentally ill daughter in ‘tragic case’
Man charged with murder of daughter in Bedok flat
33 months jail for S’pore man, 66, who killed mentally ill daughter due to depression, caregiver stress
Man jailed 2 years and 9 months for killing ‘overbearing’ daughter who almost drove him, wife to suicide

Hui Yee Tang

Photo of a young Asian woman with short black hair, wearing a yellow shirt and a lanyard around her neck. Name: Hui Yee Tang.
Died: August 20, 2017.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Stab injury.
Location: Pasir Ris Street, Singapore.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.

Details:
Ms. Tang lived with her father, mother, and two siblings. She liked to play with water, and would stand under the shower for hours at a time. Neighbors remember her as “a pleasant, quiet girl”. She was enrolled in a program at the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS).

Ms. Tang’s father stabbed her to death before committing suicide. He was “worried about her future”.

case status:
Soh Ha Tang (Father), deceased.

Source:
Pasir Ris double deaths: ‘Depressed’ father was worried about future of autistic daughter
Father fatally stabbed intellectually disabled daughter, jumped to his death: Coroner’s inquiry
Pasir Ris double deaths: Man who killed daughter had history of mental problems
Pasir Ris deaths: In life as in death, father and daughter were inseparable
Pasir Ris double deaths: Neighbours describe father and daughter as ‘loving’

Annie Ee

Name: Annie Ee Yu Lian.
Died: April 13, 2015.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Fat embolism.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Annie lived with a friend and her husband. She worked as a waitress.

Her caregivers took her salary, repeatedly beat her, and did not seek medical care when she was obviously dying. She died from a fat embolism, a clump of fat that tore loose from her injuries and clogged a critical blood vessel. She had a ruptured stomach and many broken bones from eight months of torture.

Case status:
Tan Hui Zhen (Housemate), pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt, sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in jail.
Pua Hak Chuan (Housemates), pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt, sentenced to 14 years in jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
Neither could be charged with murder because they “did not intend to kill” Annie, and because she died of a fat embolism, which is a rare medical complication.

Source:
Couple ‘tortured’ intellectually disabled waitress, who died after 8 months of abuse
Couple plead guilty to torturing mentally disabled ‘friend’ for 8 months until she died
Couple abused intellectually disabled waitress to completely control her: Prosecutors
Mentally disabled woman dies after being abused for 8 months by couple
Couple tortured intellectually disabled woman for months until she died
Over 18,000 signatures received for petition to seek heavier punishment for abusers of deceased intellectually disabled waitress
Couple who tortured friend to death: Wife gets 16½ years’ jail, husband gets 14 years, 14 strokes of the cane
‘They were like gangsters’: Neighbour of couple who ‘tortured’ intellectually disabled woman
‘An apology is not enough’: Brother of woman who beat Annie Ee to death
People around Annie Ee knew something bad was happening
Couple who tortured Annie Ee: Prosecutor could not charge them with murder, says AGC

Mr. Zhang

Photo of a young Asian boy with tan skin and black hair, wearing a sports jersey, his hands to his neck, looking puzzled. Name: Zhang (First name unknown).
Died: September 13, 2014.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 7-year-old boy was found dead on the ground outside a high-rise apartment building after being pushed out the 9th-story window by his mother.

Case status:
Koh Sook Hoon (Mother); pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, sentenced to 5 years.

Source:
Woman who threw her son from 9th storey flat jailed 5 years
Autism Memorial: Zhang (7-year-old male)
Seven-year-old boy found dead at the foot of a Tampines HDB block; police investigating
Mother of boy found dead at Tampines to face murder charge
Mother of seven-year-old boy found dead in Tampines arrested for alleged murder
Singaporean mother charged with killing autistic 7-year-old son
Mentally-ill mother gets five years’ jail for death of son
Jailed for pushing autistic son out of window

Shah Amin Shariffudin

No Photo Name: Shah Amin Shariffudin.
Died: September 26, 2010.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Marsiling, Singapore.
Disability: Global developmental delay, mobility impaired (wore leg braces).

Details:
Shah was strangled by his father, who then killed himself. Reportedly, his father had gone into debt and did not want to “burden” the family with Shah’s care.

Case status:
Shariffudin Abdul Kader (Father), deceased.

Source:
Death at Marsiling leads police to second body at hotel
Man kills himself, leaves note confessing to son’s murder
$1m debts led to two deaths

Faheem Farook

No Photo Name: Faheem Mohamed Farook.
Died: April 24, 2009.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Faheem and his parents moved to Singapore from India when he was just a year old; at five, Faheem was diagnosed with autism, and his parents were “troubled by his condition”.

When he was seven, his father pushed him out a high-rise window and jumped out after him.

Case status:
Mohamed Farook (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Faheem Farook
Husband leaped to death with son: She taps into grief to help others heal
Book of stories about conquering mental illness launched at charity’s 5th anniversary dinner

Category: Location: Singapore