From The Straits Times Archives

Yishun triple murders: A look back at the case

SINGAPORE - Chinese national Wang Zhijian, who killed three women, including his lover and her daughter, in a Yishun flat in 2008, will still have to hang, after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on Friday.

The gruesome murder shocked Singaporeans when the news broke in 2008. We take a look back at the case in a Straits Times Archives special.


Two dead with multiple wounds, another woman dead found at the bottom of block

This article was first published on Sept 20, 2008

In the end, only one of four women survived the attack in their Yishun flat: the youngest, a 14-year-old.

The Northland Secondary School student was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was in the operating theatre for most of a day.

When police barged into the unlit flat at about 2am, she was found bloodied but alive. Two other occupants, a 17-year-old and a woman in her 40s, were dead. Read more here


The smiling suspect

This article was first published on Sept 21, 2008

He was charged with murder but there were no tears.

Instead, 42-year-old Chinese national Wang Zhijian flashed a toothy smile at photographers when he saw them snapping his picture.

At about 9am on Sept 20, 2008, Wang, dressed in a red polo T-shirt and a pair of dark-coloured trousers, appeared at the Subordinate Courts. His right hand was bandaged. Read more here


Dream of a better life turns into a tragedy

This article was first published on Sept 28, 2008

In November last year, Madam Zhang Meng and her daughter Feng Jianyu flew to Singapore from their home in Tianjin in northern China.

They were in high spirits.

Jianyu was going to be enrolled in a school here and Madam Zhang, whose husband is a policeman, would look after her. Read more here


Teen survivor of triple killing tells of repeated slashings

This article was first published on Nov 23, 2011

As she lay bleeding on the floor while a naked knife-wielding killer rampaged through her home, Li Meilin's only thought was: "God, let me die."

But the teenager lived to tell of the frenzied attack, which left her mother and two other women dead.

And after hearing her harrowing account yesterday, a judge told the 18-year-old it was a miracle she survived. Read more here


Quarrel over money for crab sparked killing spree

This article was first published on Nov 24, 2011

An argument over a meal of crab triggered a killing spree by a Chinese national which ended in the deaths of three women, the High Court heard.

Wang Zhijian, 45, who is accused of killing them in the horrific incident on Sept 18, 2008, told police after his arrest he was angry when his girlfriend, Madam Zhang Meng, asked him for money.

When he asked her why she needed it, she said she wanted to eat crab. He told her she had just eaten the dish a few days ago, and that they should save the money. He claimed she called him a "pauper". Read more here


Pledge of love written in blood

This article was first published on Nov 25, 2011

They wrote letters in their blood pledging their love. He said he would love her till he died. He even tattooed her face on his back.

They broke up and reunited at least four times. He claimed he spent lavishly on her and even helped look after her husband when the latter had a stroke.

The dramatic love story of Chinese nationals Wang Zhijian and Zhang Meng emerged in court yesterday on the third day of the former's trial. Read more here


Accused gets death for killing flatmate

This article was first published on Dec 1, 2012

A Chinese national who killed three women, including his lover and her daughter, was yesterday sentenced by the High Court to hang for the murder of one of them.

The judge accepted the defence of diminished responsibility for only two of the deaths.

Wang Zhijian, 46, was tried for the murder of his lover Zhang Meng, 41, her daughter Feng Jianyu, 17, and their flatmate Yang Jie, 36, at a Yishun flat in 2008. Read more here

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