was armed with weapons and about to assault anyone in an outburst. Death penalty On 1 December 1993, after a trial lasting three weeks, 33-year-old Lim Lye Hock was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. In convicting Lim of murder, Justice Lai Kew Chai found that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Lim had violently attacked and intentionally killed Tan Hui Ngin, and had also referred to the evidence of Lim stealing her handbag and personal valuables to avoid identification of the victim. He was also persuaded by Dr Ang Ah Ling's psychiatric report that Lim's mental responsibility was not affected by intermittent explosive disorder at the time he killed Tan, and he was capable of realizing the full magnitude of his actions and self-control. Therefore, Justice Lai was satisfied that Lim should be liable to a conviction for murder, and therefore imposed the mandatory death penalty on Lim. According to news reports, Lim's younger sister was devastated at the verdict and she nearly charged outside of the courtroom before Lim's mother calmed her down, while a female member of the audience gave a thumbs up at the judgement. Lim himself smiled a little as he was led away from court by the police officers. Two years later in 1995, Lim lost his appeal against the murder charge and death sentence, and he was eventually hanged. In upholding Lim's conviction and sentence, one of the three judges of Appeal L P Thean held that based on the marital communication privilege principle, Lim's wife had every right to come to court to give her testimony against her husband in court based on what she witnessed and what her husband told her, although she should not reveal the communication between her and her husband unless she got the consent from Lim to do so. Overall, the Court of Appeal found no error in Lim's conviction and hence dismissed his appeal. This appeal judgement became a legal case study where it examines the legality of using the testimony of a defendant's spouse against the defendant in a criminal trial, whether it incriminate against the accused or not. In the aftermath of Lim's case and execution, the main investigation officer Lau Hock Peng was awarded in 1997 for his efforts in arresting the killer of the Tan Hui Ngin case and his dedication and service to the police force.