S'pore cabby charged with killing wife's lover

PAHANG - A Singaporean cabby was on Wednesday charged in court with allegedly stabbing his wife and murdering a man he said was her lover.

Quah Tee Keon, 47, who surrendered to the Malaysian police after a 15-day manhunt, could be jailed for up to 20 years for injuring his wife Loong Mei Ling, 33. He also faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Mr Ruan Chao Kiang, 32, according to a report in The Star yesterday.

Quah allegedly grabbed a knife and started stabbing both his wife and Mr Ruan, a Chinese national, after catching them in bed in a two-storey house in Triang, Pahang, at about 3.30am on Oct 13.

Mr Ruan died of his injuries, while Madam Loong was hospitalised after being stabbed in one lung. She had wounds on her neck, hands and back.

Some reports said she escaped by fleeing to another room and locking herself in. Others said one of her sons managed to stop Quah from attacking her further. The couple have three sons, two of whom were in the house at the time.

Yesterday, Quah's lawyer Lim Lip Eng asked for bail to be granted as Quah is diabetic and has asthma, according to The Star. He alleged that Quah had been denied medical treatment.

The magistrate denied the bail request and said Quah would be given proper medical attention. The cabby is due to return to court on Dec 17.

Quah married Madam Loong in 2004 and lived in a flat in Woodlands Avenue 1 in Singapore. They were known to have had loud - sometimes physical - fights, according to their neighbours, who suspected the fights were over money.

Madam Loong claimed that Quah had physically abused her in Singapore, so she moved back to her home town in Pahang in September with their three sons, aged two to six.

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