SINGAPORE, Aug 3 — The High Court is grappling with how to deal with a rare case involving a 90‑year‑old man who killed his wife in what prosecutors described as an “overwhelmingly lethal” attack, while suffering from dementia and delirium and deemed incapable of making his defence.
CNA reported that Ridawi Morsudin, who was 88 at the time of the June 2024 incident, inflicted extensive sharp‑force injuries on his 74‑year‑old wife, including a gaping wound from her jaw to her chest, multiple stab and incised wounds, and fractures to her skull, neck, spine and ribs. His grandson found her lying in a pool of blood, while Ridawi stood nearby mumbling incoherently.
Medical assessments later confirmed Ridawi was of unsound mind due to major neurocognitive disorder and delirium. He remains unfit to plead and is bed‑bound, with deteriorating health. The case is the first to be heard under Singapore’s updated “unsoundness of mind” regime, introduced in February 2025.
Under the law, the court must determine a notional imprisonment period — the jail term Ridawi would have received had he been convicted — before reporting the case to the minister, who will then decide whether he should be confined or conditionally released.
Prosecutors proposed a five‑year notional sentence, citing the brutality of the attack but acknowledging Ridawi’s altered sense of reality, low risk of reoffending and total dependence on caregivers. His lawyer argued for two to three years, saying a longer period could amount to life imprisonment given his condition.
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng has adjourned the matter to Aug 13 to deliver her decision. Had Ridawi been mentally fit and convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he could have faced life imprisonment or up to 20 years’ jail.
