A Myanmar man who stabbed his roommate to death after an argument was sentenced to life in prison by a court.

The incident happened on April 2 last year at an HDB flat on Bedok Reservoir Road. The accused Naing Lin (age 51) had a drink with the deceased Myo Kyaw Thu, 49, who was a fellow Myanmar national who was on a short-term visitor pass.

The two returned to the room one after another, and the accused quarreled with the deceased because the deceased often borrowed money from others. Later, the accused came to the kitchen to get a knife to cook when he suddenly remembered that he had left his mobile phone in his room. So, he returned to his room with a kitchen knife. On seeing this, the deceased swore at him. The accused got angry by this and slashed the deceased’s face, chest, abdomen and left hand with the knife.

The accused then changed his clothes and went out without checking the condition of the deceased. It was not until after 9am the next morning that the accused, accompanied by a friend, went home and found the deceased lying in a pool of blood. The accused then surrendered to the police. He went to Bedok South Neighbourhood Police Centre to surrender himself to the authorities.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Teo Lu Jia and Seah Ee Wei told the court that he cooperated significantly with the police and was intoxicated when he killed Myo Kyaw Thu.

The Institute of Mental Health report said the accused was intoxicated at the time of the crime, but was in a clear state of mind and knew he had made a mistake.

Myo Kyaw Thu was also severely intoxicated at the time, which could account for the relative lack of movement, struggling or defensive injuries on his part, the court heard.