Man, 90, with dementia charged over wife’s death after grandson spots her lying in blood via CCTV
A 90-year-old man suffering from dementia has been charged with culpable homicide after his 74-year-old wife was found dead in their Bukit Panjang flat.
Shin Min Daily News reported that Ridawi Morsudin was charged in court on Aug 3 with causing the death of his wife, Aminah Abdul, between 6.40pm on June 4 and 12.58am on June 5, 2024, at their flat along Petir Road.
Court documents showed Ridawi’s cognitive condition had deteriorated significantly from 2022. He no longer recognised family members, became increasingly aggressive and frequently wandered out of the house before getting lost.
Between Jan 28, 2023, and Jan 22, 2024, police had to assist him on 10 occasions after he went missing.
On Jan 22, 2024, he was found wandering in a confused state and admitted to hospital, where he remained until Feb 4. He was diagnosed with delirium and mixed dementia.
He was later enrolled in a day-care programme, with a healthcare assistant assigned to care for him at home from 8am to 8pm daily from Monday to Saturday while waiting for placement.
Locked up to prevent wandering
To prevent Ridawi from wandering out of the flat unsupervised again, his family members secured the home’s metal gate with a bicycle chain lock.
Only family members knew the lock’s combination, while Ridawi and his wife did not.
Although Ridawi was admitted to a day-care centre on March 19, 2024, he reportedly refused to attend from April 30.
His family then took turns delivering meals and installed a CCTV camera inside the flat to monitor the couple remotely. However, the camera did not have a memory card and therefore did not record footage.
On June 4, a family member visited at about 6.40pm to deliver food. She saw Ridawi asleep in a recliner and Aminah sitting on a sofa before leaving around 7pm.
Shortly after midnight, the couple’s grandson, who lived with them, checked the live CCTV feed. He saw his grandmother lying motionless in a pool of blood while Ridawi stood behind the recliner.
The grandson immediately called 995 before rushing home on his motorcycle.
When he arrived, he found Aminah lying on the floor with her upper body exposed and her sarong pulled below her knees.
When he asked his grandfather what had happened, Ridawi reportedly muttered: “That person is gone. It’s too late.”
Assessment reveals significant mental impairment
Court documents stated that Ridawi suffers from vascular dementia and was experiencing significant mental impairment at the time of the incident.
He has also been assessed as unfit to plead and incapable of living independently.
An autopsy found that Aminah suffered injuries to her left lung and fractures to her:
- skull;
- neck;
- spine;
- left jaw;
- left collarbone; and
- multiple ribs.
She also sustained at least 34 sharp-force injuries to her head, face and the left side of her body.
Police recovered a blood-stained pair of scissors from a pillow on a table in the living room. DNA tests matched the blood to Aminah.
Another blood-stained pair of scissors was found beneath her body.
Investigators also found Aminah’s blood on Ridawi’s walking stick, beneath his fingernails, on his nose, left foot, right hand, watch strap, right knee and clothing.
More than 370 bloodstains were found on the front and back of his clothes. According to court documents, investigators believe the stains were consistent with blood spatter caused by a bloodied object being swung.
The case has been adjourned to Aug 13.
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