Zin Mar Nwe v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

[2025] SGCA 44 Court of Appeal 18 September 2025 • CA/CCA 10/2023 • 51 min read

12 cases cited (10 SG, 2 foreign)

Outcome

Appeal allowed

we allowed the appeal against conviction and substituted the Appellant’s conviction on the charge of murder under s 300(c) of the Penal Code with one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under s 304(a) committed under grave and sudden provocation within the meaning of Exception 1. The appeal against sentence104 We turn then to the Appellant’s sentence.

Source: [2025] SGCA 44, Court of Appeal, decided 18 September 2025. Read directly from the judgment.

Key facts

Court	Court of Appeal
Decided	18 September 2025
Judges	See Kee Oon, Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang
Charges / claim	Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
Outcome	Appeal allowed
Counsel	Attorney-General's Chambers, Invictus Law Corporation, Brian Tan, Cory Wong Guo Yean, Josephus Tan Joon Liang, Kumaresan Gohulabalan, Sean Teh

Source: [2025] SGCA 44, Court of Appeal, decided 18 September 2025 — eLitigation. Updated 25 June 2026.

Catchwords

Criminal Law — Offences — Murder Criminal Law — Defences — Diminished responsibility Criminal Law — Defences — Grave and sudden provocation Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Sentencing — Appeals Criminal Law — Offences — Culpable homicide not amounting to murder

Practice Areas

Criminal Law Criminal Procedure and Sentencing

Judges (3)

See Kee Oon Delivered Sundaresh Menon Coram Tay Yong Kwang Coram

Counsel (7)

Attorney-General's Chambers Firm Invictus Law Corporation Firm Brian Tan Counsel Respondent Cory Wong Guo Yean Counsel Appellant Josephus Tan Joon Liang Counsel Appellant Kumaresan Gohulabalan Counsel Respondent Sean Teh Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

Public Prosecutor Respondent Zin Mar Nwe Appellant

Case Significance

[2025] SGCA 44 is a Court of Appeal decision dated 18 September 2025 concerning Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and Sentencing, specifically addressing offences, defences, and sentencing. The judgment was delivered by See Kee Oon, with Sundaresh Menon and Tay Yong Kwang on the coram. The case was brought by Zin Mar Nwe (appellant) against Public Prosecutor (respondent). Legal representation was provided by Invictus Law Corporation and Attorney-General's Chambers. The judgment cites 12 cases (10 Singapore, 2 foreign) and references 1 statutory provision, namely the Penal Code.

Summary

Zin Mar Nwe, a 17-year-old Myanmar domestic worker, appealed against her conviction for murdering her employer's mother-in-law by stabbing. She relied on the defence of diminished responsibility at trial, but on appeal also raised the partial defence of grave and sudden provocation under Exception 1 to s 300 of the Penal Code. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, substituting the murder conviction with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and reducing her sentence from life imprisonment to 17 years' imprisonment, backdated to her arrest.

What was decided in [2025] SGCA 44?

[2025] SGCA 44 (Zin Mar Nwe v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR) is a Court of Appeal decision from 18 September 2025 addressing Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and Sentencing, specifically offences, defences, and sentencing. The judgment was delivered by See Kee Oon.

Who were the parties in Zin Mar Nwe v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2025] SGCA 44)?

The appellant in [2025] SGCA 44 was Zin Mar Nwe, and the respondent was Public Prosecutor. Legal representation included Invictus Law Corporation and Attorney-General's Chambers. The case was decided on 18 September 2025 in the Court of Appeal.

Which judge decided [2025] SGCA 44?

[2025] SGCA 44 was delivered by See Kee Oon in the Court of Appeal on 18 September 2025. Sundaresh Menon and Tay Yong Kwang also sat on the coram. The case concerned Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and Sentencing.