Man slashes older brother with chopper, burns bedroom door over “annoying” and “abusive” behaviour

A man in Singapore attacked his older brother with a chopper over the latter’s annoying behaviour, using a homemade flamethrower to lure him out of his bedroom beforehand.

Growing up, both siblings had a tense relationship and following his parents’ divorce in 2000, the accused, Daniel Fock Ming Chai, 27, and his brother lived separately with their parents, The Straits Times reported.

Fock moved in with his father, brother and younger sister in 2023, saying that his computer was in the residence.

The altercation happened on June 16 2023 after Fock found used dental floss on his toothbrush left by his older brother in the shared bathroom.

Fock saw red and crafted his own flamethrower using an aerosol can and burnt a soap stand in the bathroom to which the victim spotted the burnt item and came up with ways to drive out the accused from the apartment.

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The brother proceeded to switch off the Wi-Fi connection placed in the bedroom, triggering Fock’s rage where he picked up the flamethrower and a chopper – heading to his brother’s bedroom and burning the bottom of the door.

As the 32-year-old opened his bedroom door, Fock swung the sharp weapon on him, slashing his right hand and both of them engaged in a physical altercation where the victim sustained cuts on his right leg and chest.

He reportedly also sustained cuts on the nerves of his right thumb and fingers, probably causing “permanent numbness”, as quoted.

He was rushed to the hospital on the same day and underwent surgery. He was admitted for four days.

During the trial on Tuesday (Sept 3), Fock pled guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon and two charges of mischief taken into consideration for his sentencing.

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Fock’s lawyer said he had a “disturbed” childhood and claimed he was regularly abused by his brother, leading to the accused’s depression diagnosis.

The victim was said to have “agitated” the accused on the day of the incident, purposely attempting to drive him away from his father’s house by “annoying” him.

While the prosecution noted Fock’s mental health diagnosis, they pointed out in court that a report by the country’s Institute of Mental Health did not state the disorder had a “contributory or causal link to his behaviour”, as quoted.