Two siblings wrote to the court for their father to be returned to them.
Miss Rosfizah Rosdi and Mr Mohd Fairos Rosdi addressed the letter to Justice Foo Chee Hock.
Their father, Rosdi Joenet, had killed his wife in November 2012, robbing the siblings of their mother.
Yesterday, Rosdi was found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was sentenced to nine years’ jail for killing Madam Faridah Senin, then 41.
Believing that she had been having an affair, he had viciously attacked her with a kitchen knife at around 5am on Nov 17, 2012, leaving 26 injuries on her body. Rosdi was arrested and held in remand from that day.
“In a day, we lost both parents and had to grow up quickly. I felt alone after losing both my parents,” wrote Miss Rosfizah, 19, in the letter that was shown to The New Paper by defence lawyer Abraham Vergis.
CLOSEST
Miss Rosfizah, one of three siblings, admitted in the letter that she was closest to her 51-year-old father who was a driver. They would play badminton and basketball on weekends.
Since waking up to the sound of their mother screaming and begging for her life that November morning, life for the siblings has changed.
Miss Rosfizah said: “We were shocked and devastated when we learnt of my mother’s passing… After the incident, our father kept apologising to us for what he had done.”
The family’s finances were drastically affected and the siblings lived on financial aid and subsidies.
“Even though our father acted against the law, he is still our father and we want him back in our lives. We want to be able to depend on our father again,” she added.
Yesterday, the defence argued for a six-year jail term for Rosdi.
Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, Berita Harian
The court heard that Rosdi’s relationship with his wife had soured and two weeks before the incident, the couple were sleeping in separate rooms. Mr Vergis said it was Rosdi’s paranoia, believing that his wife was having an affair and his feeling of hopelessness in salvaging the relationship, that drove him to violence.
But he had wanted to do something about his marriage and attempted to see a marriage counsellor.
In October 2012, Rosdi booked a November appointment for the couple to see a marriage counsellor. But Madam Faridah did not show up, said Mr Vergis.
A psychiatric report done in December 2012 revealed that Rosdi was suffering from a psychotic disorder known as Delusional Disorder.
Subsequent psychiatric assessments stated his risk of committing future violent acts to be low and that he would require one to two years’ treatment.
Mr Vergis said his client was no longer a threat as his delusion system only included his wife and in Rosdi’s own words, “it all ended with the death of my wife”.
The lawyer suggested a “hybrid approach” of discharging Rosdi into his home environment over time to continue with his treatment.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Meng, who had recommended a sentence of between eight and 10 years’ jail, disagreed.
He said: “It is submitted that where the offence is particularly serious or heinous, the principle of protection of the public must also be a primary consideration in the sentencing of mentally-disordered offenders.”
INJURIES
The court was reminded that Rosdi, armed with a kitchen knife with a 20cm-long blade, had inflicted no less than 26 injuries on his wife.
The DPP also stressed that to date, Rosdi has not received any treatment and that he still harbours delusional thoughts against his dead wife.
He added: “The symptoms of the Delusional Disorder are still active and unless he is treated, there is a risk the accused might re-offend by perpetuating violence against others .”
HE STABBED HIS WIFE TO DEATH
Their marriage was already rocky.
Rosdi Joenet had suspected his wife, Madam Faridah Senin, of cheating on him.
At about 5am on Nov 17, 2012, Rosdi, who slept in a separate room, had entered his wife’s master bedroom to discuss their marital disputes.
His attempt was greeted with angry words from Madam Faridah, who chased him out of the room.
Rosdi returned to the room shortly with a kitchen knife and locked the door behind him.
Screams were heard.
Madam Faridah’s mother, who was preparing breakfast, was first to rush to the locked room. She demanded that Rosdi unlock the door.
He had told his mother-in-law that he was in a discussion with his wife and would soon open the door.
Madam Faridah, a security officer, was then heard begging Rosdi not to kill her.
But he ignored her and stabbed her multiple times.
When Rosdi finally came out of the room about 19 minutes later, he told his mother-in-law he had killed his wife.
Rosdi’s three children, who were awoken by the screams, were told by their father that he had “reasons” for killing their mother.
MOTIONLESS
Madam Faridah was found lying motionless on the floor with blood on her T-shirt. The bloodied knife was beside her. Paramedics pronounced her dead at 5.38am.
An autopsy report stated the cause of death as stab injuries to a large vein carrying blood into the heart and stab injuries to an airway in the respiratory tract that channeled air into her right lung.
zaihan@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on March 8, 2016.
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