SINGAPORE — A Vietnamese woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death after suspecting him of drinking with a beer promoter has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, in what a Singapore High Court judge described as a “tragic case of love gone wrong”.

The Strait Times reported that Nguyen Ngoc Giau, 43, a Singapore permanent resident, was found guilty of murdering 51-year-old Cho Wang Keung in the early hours of July 15, 2021.

She stabbed him multiple times in the common corridor outside his fifth-floor flat at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 shortly before 1am.

When police arrived, they found Nguyen sitting in the corridor with Cho lying on her. Both had multiple stab wounds. They were taken to hospital separately, where Cho was pronounced dead at about 7.15am.

The report further stated that during her trial, which began in April, Nguyen’s defence argued that she had been too intoxicated to form the intention to kill, claiming the stabbing happened in the heat of a sudden fight.

However, Justice Dedar Singh Gill rejected the arguments, ruling that Nguyen’s intoxication was not so severe as to prevent her from forming intent.

“The evidence instead portrays someone who remained capable of forming specific intentions and acting upon them in a rational and calculated manner,” he said in his written judgment.

He added that the claim of a sudden fight was “largely speculative” and unsupported by Nguyen’s police statements.

The court heard that Nguyen and Cho’s relationship was marked by frequent quarrels and fights.

“In this mix entered a female beer promoter. This ignited suspicion and anger. A life has been needlessly lost,” Justice Gill said.

Nguyen had moved into Cho’s flat in July 2020 as a tenant and later became his partner. The fatal stabbing occurred three days after Cho hosted a drinking session with friends at his flat.

After the verdict, Nguyen — described as slim-built — asked through an interpreter if she could appeal. Justice Gill told her to discuss the matter with her lawyer.