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A 34-YEAR-OLD private clinic doctor was charged in the Magistrates’ Court here on Monday with the murder of his wife and young son, offences that carry the mandatory death penalty or lengthy imprisonment if proven.
No plea was recorded from the accused, Dr Chia Tong Hong, after two murder charges were read out separately before Magistrates Atifah Hazimah Wahab and A Shaarmini.
According to the charge, the accused is alleged to have intentionally caused the deaths of his wife, Phun Lai Ling, 37, and their son, Aaden Chia Yee Heng, aged five, at a house near Jalan Perjiranan 11/12, Bandar Dato’ Onn, between 9.50pm and 10.34pm on December 30, 2025.
The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death sentence or imprisonment of up to 40 years and whipping of up to 12 strokes upon conviction.
In a separate proceeding, the accused pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Atifah Hazimah to a charge of intentionally obstructing police officers in the course of their investigation.
He is alleged to have altered the position of his son’s body at the same location at about 8.10am on December 31, 2025.
The charge was brought under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to RM10,000, or both, if convicted.
Dr Chia also pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Nabilah Nizam to an additional charge of disposing of his wife’s artificial fingernails with the intention of screening himself from legal punishment. The alleged offence occurred at the same place, date and time.
This charge was framed under Section 201 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison term of up to seven years and a fine upon conviction.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Sarah Siti Aisyah Mustapha Kamal, Nur Fatihah Mohd Nizam and Siti Aishah Latif. The accused was represented by lawyer Bernard George.
No bail was offered as the case involves charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code. The court fixed March 17 for mention of the case for the handover of documents, pending the completion of post-mortem, DNA, chemical, forensic and toxicology reports.
Earlier, the accused arrived at the court complex at about 8.50am in a police vehicle under escort by investigating officers and personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Johor Bahru South district police headquarters.
He was initially dressed in a purple remand uniform before changing into a grey T-shirt and appeared calm throughout the proceedings.
Previously, media reports said a woman who worked as an accountant was found dead with slash wounds to her neck, while her son was discovered with bluish discolouration on his face, believed to have been caused by suffocation.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad was reported as saying that police arrested a man, who is a doctor and the husband of the deceased woman, on January 3. He added that a knife, along with a pillow and its case, had been seized during the investigation. - January 16, 2026