On 21 January 2022, at a playground in Greenridge Crescent, located in Singapore's Upper Bukit Timah, 11-year-old twin brothers Ethan Yap E Chern (Chinese: 叶育成; pinyin: Yè Yùchéng) and Aston Yap Kai Shern (Chinese: 叶凯胜; pinyin: Yè Kǎishèng), who were both diagnosed with autism, were murdered by their 48-year-old father Xavier Yap Jung Houn (Chinese: 叶俊宏; pinyin: Yè Jùnhóng). Yap strangled them both to death before attempting suicide. Yap was charged with the double murder, which shocked the nation at the time. Yap, whose murder charges were reduced due to clinical depression, was reported to have killed the boys due to his suicidal thoughts and his belief that his sons would be neglected and unloved by their mother upon his death, and wanted to kill the twins so they would not be burdens to his wife. Yap was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in August 2023, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter at the High Court.
Background Twins Ethan Yap E Chern and Aston Yap Kai Shern were born on 14 October 2010 to parents Xavier Yap Jung Houn and Anna Seah Puay Hiang, the latter who had a daughter from a previous marriage who lived with the Yaps. Yap, a university graduate who formerly worked as a manager at the Ministry of Defence, had once studied for a doctorate in England. When both Ethan and Aston were two years old, Yap and his wife suspected that the brothers were autistic after noticing certain behavioral signs. In May 2017, at the age of six, the boys were formally diagnosed with global developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder. According to sources, Seah was unable to accept the boys' condition and, despite the doctor's recommendation to enroll the boys in a special education school, enrolled the boys at age nine in Primary 1 at a mainstream primary school located in the Eng Kong estate area while they were still non-verbal. The boys encountered learning difficulties throughout their schooling, so the boys' mother and maid would each accompany one child to classes. Whenever the mother was unavailable, one of the twins would not be present for school. Reportedly, Yap's wife did not allow her husband to have a say in decisions on which school the boys should attend, or their school activities. It was reported that Yap had a good relationship with his sons. Yap would help the brothers to prepare their daily necessities and gave them whatever they wanted, and he would not resort to physical force when he disciplined the twins. Yap also played a more major role in their studies and often made time to spend with them after they enrolled in primary school. However, in 2019 or 2020, Yap became increasingly concerned about his sons' welfare. In 2021, Yap's wife, who allegedly had an affair, began to grow more prone to anger and allegedly became more abusive towards the twins, which only added to his concerns. In December 2021, Yap began to harbour suicidal thoughts, and even bought an ice pick with plans to take his own life. At the start of 2022, the boys were about to be assessed for their suitability to remain in their mainstream primary school, and this turn of events caused Yap's wife to become more depressed and infuriated at her sons. Assuming this was a sign that his wife had given up on the boys, Yap began harbouring serious thoughts of killing his sons before he committed suicide, so as to unburden his wife. Yap also feared for his sons, concerned that they would become ostracized should he and his wife die one day, and which became another factor behind his motive of murdering his sons on 21 January 2022.
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