She was chained in the toilet, where she also slept and ate.
In a Clementi flat over eleven months, a 19-year-old woman named Huang Baoying was starved, beaten, and confined until she weighed less than half of what she had when she arrived — a slow erasure of a young life carried out by people she had trusted. On May 25, 2026, one of three accused, 66-year-old Lim Peng Tiong, was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison for his part in her death — a judgment that sought to weigh individual culpability within a collective cruelty. The case asks an enduring question: how does a system of punishment, begun with small fines for small habits, become capable of such destruction, and how do ordinary people come to participate in it?
- A 19-year-old who entered a household seeking weight loss and income left it in a body weighing 27.6 kilograms, bearing the marks of months of beatings, starvation, and confinement in a toilet where she was chained.
- What began as a fine system for perceived bad habits — 50 cents for the wrong way of walking — escalated into a coordinated torture regime documented on WhatsApp, with wooden sticks striking her calves and thighs up to 240 times in a single session.
- On her final night, she was beaten for failing to cry, had salt poured into an open wound, and was held beneath a running tap until she struggled to breathe — and when she could no longer sit up, those around her debated what story to tell authorities rather than calling for help.
- Justice Pang Khang Chau rejected both the prosecution's push for 20 years and the defense's argument for 11, settling on 14 years and 11 months — finding Lim the least culpable of three, but refusing to treat lesser culpability as innocence.
- Two co-accused, including Baoying's own brother and the woman who designed and demonstrated the punishment techniques, remain before the courts, leaving the full reckoning for this case still unfinished.
On the morning of May 5, 2021, Huang Baoying's brother found her unresponsive in a Clementi flat. She was 19 years old and weighed 27.6 kilograms — less than half her weight when she had moved in eleven months earlier. An autopsy confirmed she had died from severe malnutrition, sepsis, and blunt force trauma accumulated over months of systematic abuse.
On May 25, 2026, Lim Peng Tiong, 66, was sentenced to 14 years and 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The prosecution had sought 20 years; the defense argued for 11. Justice Pang Khang Chau found a middle path, recognizing Lim as the least culpable of three perpetrators — though not innocent.
The three had met through a nutritional products company in 2018. Chee Mei Wan, 46, led the group as a coach and club leader, and began a relationship with Baoying's brother, Huang Bocan, 34. When the pandemic shuttered their storefront in 2020, the group relocated to the siblings' home, then to Lim's flat. What began as a fine system for habits Chee deemed problematic — as little as 50 cents for the wrong way of walking — gave way within a month to physical punishment. Baoying bore the worst of it.
She was forced into squats for up to six hours. Food was rationed to a single meal of mixed vegetable rice per week, funded by a meager allowance controlled by her brother. She was confined to the toilet, chained there, made to sleep and eat in that space. A WhatsApp group was created to log her perceived failures. The three beat her with a wooden stick — up to 240 strikes per session — targeting her calves and thighs. Chee demonstrated the correct technique before the others practiced it on Baoying. One wound on her right calf never healed.
On her final night, she was beaten for failing to cry during squats, had salt poured into an open wound, and was held beneath a running tap until she gasped for breath. When they untied her, she could no longer sit up. Hours passed. Bocan deleted photographs, videos, and audio recordings of her injuries. At 6:02 a.m., he called emergency services. Paramedics arrived to find him performing CPR. She was pronounced dead within minutes.
At sentencing, Justice Pang rejected the prosecution's framing of Lim's conduct as the gravest category of culpable homicide, finding it failed to account for his lesser role. Lim had no familial bond with Baoying, had himself been subjected to the punishment regime, and was not its architect. The judge nonetheless rejected the defense's brainwashing argument as a shield against accountability. Two co-accused — Bocan and Chee — remain before the courts.
On the morning of May 5, 2021, Huang Baoying's brother found her unresponsive on a mattress in a Clementi flat. She was 19 years old and weighed 27.6 kilograms—less than half her body weight when she had moved into the home eleven months earlier. By the time paramedics arrived and began resuscitation efforts, it was too late. An autopsy would show she had died from severe malnutrition complicated by sepsis and blunt force trauma so extensive that her body bore the marks of months of systematic beating.
On Monday, May 25, 2026, Lim Peng Tiong, 66, was sentenced to 14 years and 11 months in prison for his role in those months of abuse. He had pleaded guilty in February to one count of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The prosecution had asked for 20 years; his lawyers had argued for 11. Justice Pang Khang Chau settled on a sentence that reflected what the judge saw as Lim's lesser culpability within a trio of abusers—though lesser did not mean innocent.
The three met in 2018 through a nutritional products company. Huang Baoying, then 16 or 17, wanted to lose weight and earn money. Chee Mei Wan, 46, ran the operation as a coach and club leader. She began a relationship with Baoying's brother, Huang Bocan, 34, in September 2018, despite being married. When the Clementi storefront closed during the pandemic in 2020, the group began gathering at the siblings' home. By July that year, both siblings had moved into Lim's flat after family disputes over spending on the company's products. Chee joined them after a quarrel with her husband.
What started as a fine system—50 cents to a few dollars for habits Chee deemed problematic, like the way Lim walked—evolved into something far darker. After a month, fines gave way to physical punishment. Baoying bore the brunt. She was made to perform squats for up to six hours at a time. In February 2021, the three created a WhatsApp group to document and report her perceived mistakes. Food became a weapon. Bocan controlled her money, giving her only 20 to 30 Singapore dollars per week for a single meal of what court documents called "mixed vegetable rice." She was confined to the toilet, chained there, forced to sleep and eat in that space. When she ate anything else, the punishment intensified. The three beat her with a wooden stick—up to 240 strikes in a single session, targeting her calves and thighs. One wound on the back of her right calf never healed. Chee demonstrated the proper technique on Lim and Bocan before they practiced it on Baoying. She was beaten for accepting a blanket from a stranger, for falling asleep during a church service, for any perceived transgression in a system designed to break her.
The final day began like others. Baoying failed to perform squats as instructed and was beaten in the living room. When she did not cry, Chee interpreted silence as defiance. Bocan and Chee beat her again. Chee asked Lim to splash cold water on her. Bocan held her head underwater. Lim fetched rope to bind her hands and force her upright. Bocan stood on her thighs. When she still would not cry, Chee poured salt onto her open wound. Around 11 p.m., they brought her to the toilet, tied her hands above her head, and left her beneath a running tap for 15 minutes, drenching her until she struggled for breath. By the time they untied her, she could no longer sit up on her own.
In the early hours of May 5, Bocan found her unresponsive. He suggested the hospital. Chee refused—she did not want authorities involved. They waited hours, discussing what story to tell. Bocan deleted photographs and videos of her wounds, along with audio recordings. At 6:02 a.m., he called 995. Paramedics arrived ten minutes later to find him performing CPR. She was pronounced dead within minutes. The paramedics, noting her injuries, reported the case to police.
At sentencing, Justice Pang rejected the prosecution's argument that this was the worst category of culpable homicide. He noted that Lim's involvement, while real and culpable, was the least of the three. The judge criticized the prosecution for trying to "shoehorn" Lim's case into the highest category without properly weighing his individual conduct. Lim had no familial relationship with Baoying, unlike her brother. He had been subjected to the same punishment regime and was not the architect of the abuse. His lawyers argued he had been brainwashed by Chee into believing the acts served Baoying's benefit. The prosecution countered that Lim should not hide behind that excuse—he had actively endorsed the abuse, participated in it, and provided the environment for it to continue undetected. The judge found a middle path: a sentence that acknowledged Lim's guilt without treating him as equivalent to those who led the regime. Two co-accused remain pending before the courts.
Citas Notables
Lim should not be allowed to hide behind the excuse of being brainwashed. While Lim was not the main driver, he had actively endorsed the abuse, participated in it, and provided the environment for it to go on undetected.— Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh
The prosecution tried to shoehorn Lim's case into this particular category, without paying attention to Lim's individual acts. It would be wrong to punish Lim accordingly because of her totally different relationship with her brother.— Justice Pang Khang Chau
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How does a punishment system for dragging your feet become systematic torture of a teenager?
It starts small. A fine here, a fine there. Everyone agrees. Then someone—in this case Chee—decides fines aren't working and introduces physical punishment. It spreads. Soon the person being punished most is the youngest, the most vulnerable. The system becomes the point. It feeds itself.
Why didn't anyone stop it? Why didn't Lim refuse?
The court heard that Lim was subjected to the same regime. He was living in his own home but operating under rules set by someone else. That's part of what his lawyers called brainwashing—though the judge was skeptical of that defense. But the prosecutor's point was sharper: Lim didn't just go along. He actively participated. He fetched rope. He splashed water. He stood on her legs. He provided the space where it all happened.
The judge gave him less time than the prosecution asked for. Why?
The judge looked at what Lim actually did versus what Chee and Bocan did. Chee designed the system. Bocan was her partner in it, her enforcer. Lim was pulled in, yes, but he wasn't the architect. The judge thought 20 years was treating him as if he were equally responsible for everything that happened. He wasn't. But that doesn't mean 14 years and 11 months is lenient. It's a long time.
What strikes you most about the final hours?
That they discussed lying about it while she was still alive but unresponsive. That Bocan wanted to call for help and Chee said no. That they had time—hours—to change course, and instead they deleted evidence. They knew what they had done.
Will the other two face trial?
Yes. Their cases are still pending. Bocan and Chee will face their own sentencing, and given their roles as the architects and primary drivers, those sentences will likely be much longer than Lim's.