Man who fled Singapore for 12 years after fatally stabbing a club patron surrendered in 2022 to seek personal closure

SINGAPORE, Oct 18 – A 55-year-old man who has spent the last 12 years on the run in Malaysia was today sentenced to 16 years in prison for fatally stabbing a clubber in 2010.

Lee Heng Wong, then 40 and working as a bouncer and manager at a disco in Geylang, stabbed 23-year-old Xi Wei Feng twice in the thigh and left him bleeding in a stairwell.

He immediately fled to Malaysia after Xi later died on February 14, 2010.

It was not until twelve years later, on October 11, 2022, that he surrendered to the Royal Malaysian Police and was arrested on October 13, 2022, before being handed over to the Singapore Police Force on October 13, 2022.

Defense lawyer Josephus Tan said Lee, who has a wife and two children in Malaysia, turned himself in to authorities for personal closure, reported ChannelNewsAsia.

Lee pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter under Penal Code Section 304(a), punishable by life in prison or up to 20 years in prison with a fine and caning.

The prosecution had asked for a sentence of 15 to 18 years in prison, while the defense had asked for a maximum of 11 years in prison – a far cry from the original charge of murder, which carries the death penalty.

On the night of the incident, Xi had become drunk and disruptive and was eventually escorted off the premises by nightclub staff after arguing with other patrons.

He later returned and confronted other guests in the stairwell, where a heated exchange ensued before Xi tried to hit one of them, lost his footing and fell down the stairs.

Lee told Xi to leave, but Xi began to insult him.

Lee went back to the disco, got a knife, went back to the stairwell, despite the club’s bartender trying to stop him, stabbed Xi twice in the left thigh and left him to bleed to death when he returned to work.

Xi was still lying in a pool of blood in the stairwell when he was discovered by a disco investor who tried to help him with the help of a bouncer from another club.

The emergency services were then called, but it was too late.

The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy said the cause of death was primarily hemorrhage and that death took “a considerable amount of time.”

“It might have been possible to save (Mr Xi’s) life had immediate surgical treatment with blood substitutes been provided.”

Lee left his workplace around 4 a.m. and saw the duo tending to Xi. He only learned that Xi had died that morning and decided to flee to Malaysia.