Man Claims He Didn’t Know a Chokehold Would Kill His Elderly Father

A Singaporean man who killed his elderly father in a headlock claimed in court that he didn’t realize choking the 67-year-old man would result in his death.

Mark Tan Peng Liat, a 30-year-old entrepreneur, was on trial on Thursday for the manslaughter of his father, Tan Kok Keng.

The accused insisted that his father attacked him first, maintaining that he was merely trying to subdue his allegedly bad-tempered dad. He also described his father as even more physically fit than him, reported the Straits Times.

The incident happened on Feb. 10 of last year following an argument that led to the son placing his own father in a chokehold at their home in West Coast Rise in Singapore. An hour after being brought to the National University Hospital, the victim was declared dead.

Initially charged with murder, Tan’s charge was eventually reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohubalan has argued that his father did not physically pose any serious threat to Tan, who maintained that he did not know his chokehold would cause his father’s death.

The victim reportedly sustained 31 injuries and died from a “manual compression of the neck.” Tan, on the other hand, had only seven minor injuries the prosecutor explained.

While the accused denied intentionally striking his father by punching or kicking him, he confirmed to the courts that he used “significant force” to restrain and subdue him by placing him in a headlock.

In Singapore, manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine, and caning. Tan’s trial is set to continue at a later date.