2022 Ang Mo Kio flat stabbing

Death of Isabel Elizabeth Francis
LocationAng Mo Kio, Singapore
Date11 January 2022
Attack type
Murder
WeaponFruit knife
VictimsIsabel Elizabeth Francis and unborn baby Leah
PerpetratorDavid Brian Chow Kwok-Hun
MotiveAttempted family annihilation and mercy killing to supposedly spare victim from business failure, erroneously due to mistaken financial reporting
ConvictionsManslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility
ChargesSeven years in prison

On 11 January 2022, 30-year-old Isabel Elizabeth Francis, who was 15 weeks pregnant with a daughter, was stabbed to death by her 33-year-old husband, David Brian Chow Kwok-Hun (Chinese: 周国坤; pinyin: Zhōu Guókūn), inside their Ang Mo Kio flat. Chow, who was arrested and indicted for murder, was said to have misunderstood that his company would go bankrupt due to an accounting error made by his employee.

Due to increasing depression over the "financial crisis" at his company, Chow wanted to commit suicide but he thought killing his wife and unborn daughter would spare them from the heartbreak and shame of losing a loved one to suicide. He used a fruit knife to stab Francis to death before attempting suicide twice, but survived both attempts.

Chow was later diagnosed with adjustment disorder, which caused him to suffer from an abnormality of the mind at the time of the offence, so Chow's murder charge was reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was sentenced to seven years in prison on 26 October 2023.