SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced on Tuesday to 14 years’ jail for killing his twin sons in January 2022, in a tragedy that shook the nation.
Xavier Yap Jung Houn claimed that he did so because he felt his wife had given up on the two 11-year-old boys, who had autism, and that killing them would take away his wife’s burdens.
He also feared that his sons would be bullied by others, and that no one would take care of them after he and his wife died.
In sentencing, Justice Vincent Hoong said the jail terms could not “in any way compensate” for the tragic loss of the two young lives.
He said he hoped Yap would use the time to reflect on the “irreversible harm” he had caused his family, as a result of his “misconceived beliefs” that his actions would alleviate their suffering.
Yap, 50, pleaded guilty to two charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, for strangling Yap Kai Shern Aston and Yap E Chern Ethan to death near a playground in Upper Bukit Timah.
He had originally been charged with murder, but this was downgraded to culpable homicide after it was revealed that he was suffering from major depressive disorder of moderate severity, around the time of the killings.
Yap admitted he had strangled the boys and submerged their faces in the canal to ensure they were really dead.
He then attempted to kill himself by stabbing himself with an ice pick in his stomach, chest and back. When he was unsuccessful, he used a tree branch and a rock to hit his own head.
On Jan 21, 2022, Yap decided to carry out his plan to kill his sons and commit suicide.
He drove the boys to the playground at Greenridge Crescent, which was near his flat at Toh Tuck Road.
The boys played for around 10 minutes before he carried them one by one into a canal near the field.
There, he picked up a stick and pressed it hard against Ethan’s neck. When the stick broke, he strangled Ethan by placing his forearm across his neck and pressing down.
Ethan struggled, but he eventually stopped moving. Yap then placed him on the ground with his face submerged in the water of the canal floor.
Yap then turned to Aston, who had been standing quietly a few metres away while his brother was being strangled.
The accused then tried to strangle Aston by placing his forearm across his son’s neck, but he was not strong enough and both fell to the ground.
While Aston was lying on the ground face up, Yap strangled him and continued to apply force to his neck until he became motionless.
He also submerged his face into the canal water.
