TORONTO, Oct 29 — A woman who moved from Singapore to Canada with her husband is now accused of killing their 15-year-old autistic son — their only child.
Sim Seow Cheng, 51, appeared before a Canadian court on Monday — two days after the body of teenager Tony Khor was found in a hotel room. Sim and her husband, Mr Boon Khor, also 51, have been married for 21 years and moved to Canada in 1989.
Canadian police told The Straits Times that the couple had an argument last Friday evening.
Her husband said that Sim had threatened to kill herself if he did not agree to a divorce.
The next morning, she and her son checked into the Homewood Suites Hotel in Toronto.
Just after 11am that day, police arrived at the fourth floor hotel room after receiving a call from Sim and found the teenager’s lifeless body there.
Homicide inspector Norm English said the woman was arrested on the spot.
“There is no satisfaction in doing cases like these,” he said. “We are still doing background checks and will have more answers in a couple of weeks.”
Police would not say how the teenager died, but he is believed to have been strangled.
Sources also said that Sim had intended to take her own life but changed her mind.
Khor was in tears when he told Canadian reporters on Monday that as his son grew older, it had become increasingly difficult to live with him as he did not speak to other people.
The boy was diagnosed with autism when he was two.
Of his wife, Khor said: “She has been depressed. But I never imagined something like this would happen.”
He also told reporters that when they quarrelled on Friday, it was the first time his wife had ever spoken of divorce.
“At that time I said, ‘I will never bring up that word, divorce. Why would you want to bring it up? If you want to divorce, go ahead.’
“I never saw the signs coming...”
Khor works as a business consultant while Sim took care of their son. A neighbour told the press she was often seen playing outside with the boy.
Khor said that when his wife left home on Saturday, he thought she had gone, after their quarrel, to cool off at Niagara Falls, a place the family had often visited.
He learnt of his son’s death only when police officers arrived at their home on Sunday morning.
If convicted, Sim could be jailed for life, without any chance of parole.
She will appear in court again on Friday to ensure that she has legal representation. Her brother from Singapore is expected to be there too. — Straits Times
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