HE killed his stepdaughter so his former wife, who had just been granted a divorce from him, could feel the pain of losing a loved one.

But instead of being vengeful over his callous act, Madam Xiu Yanhong, 39, does not resent her ex-husband, Ong Pang Siew.

Ong, 46, a private bus driver, was sentenced to death on Thursday for strangling Ong Pan Hui, 15, on the evening of 20 Oct, 2007.

Madam Xiu told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'I've been sad since my daughter died and my ex-husband's death won't make me happy. My daughter will never come back and the pain will always be there.'

She visits her daughter's niche in Mandai Columbarium once a month.

If Ong appeals, Madam Xiu hopes his death sentence can be overturned.

'I feel that since one life has already been taken, there is no point with another life being lost over this tragedy,' she said.

'If my ex-husband appeals, I hope he'll escape the gallows. He killed my daughter but he's still my son's father and there was once love between us.'

One of Ong's lawyers, Mr Sunil Sudheesan, said he was likely to appeal.

Granted divorce

Just two weeks before the murder, Madam Xiu was granted a divorce from Ong and custody of Pan Hui and the 6-year-old son she bore with him.

Pan Hui had written notes in Chinese, telling of how she hated her stepfather as he was abusive towards her and had peeped into her diary.

Madam Xiu, who is originally from Jilin, China, became a Singaporean after marrying Ong in 2002.

The divorcee came to Singapore to work in a factory in 1997 and now runs a beauty and massage parlour in Tanjong Katong.

Madam Xiu said Ong had never hit her, although he was verbally abusive towards her and their children.

Declining to reveal more about their divorce, Madam Xiu said: 'He would get angry for no rhyme or reason and when he threw tantrums, he threatened to stab me and my children to death.

'Do I hate my ex-husband? I don't know, but there's a part of my marriage that's worth remembering.

'There are fond and good memories. We had our happy times though we're now divorced. He was very supportive when I was working. He'd prepare food and heat it up for me when I came home.'

Madam Xiu even wanted the China-born Pan Hui to take Ong's surname as she wanted her two children to have the same surname.

Ong continued quarrelling with Madam Xiu after their divorce, claiming that she did not let him see their son.

On the day of the murder, Ong argued with her over the phone over access to the boy.

He then turned up at a Marsiling Drive rented flat where Madam Xiu lived with their children and two co-tenants.

During an argument, Ong strangled Pan Hui.

Madam Xiu said of the tragedy: 'My ex-husband knew where I lived as our divorce papers had my address.'

When Ong began strangling the girl, the co-tenants called Madam Xiu, who rushed back from her workplace. The co-tenants, both female students from China, were unable to stop Ong because of his stout build.

By the time Madam Xiu got home, Pan Hui was dead and Ong had been arrested.

Madam Xiu denied preventing Ong from seeing their son, saying it was her ex-husband who did not exercise his rights to access.

She said: 'The day before he killed my daughter, I phoned him to ask if he wanted to see his son but he said he wasn't free.

'On that fateful day, I was busy at work and my daughter planned to go to the library. My ex-husband called and said he wanted to see his son but I couldn't get away from work and he wasn't supposed to come to my place.'

Ong was not supposed to show up at his ex-wife's home as she had obtained a restraining order against him. Even after he was remanded, Madam Xiu offered to take the boy to visit him in prison but Ong refused to see her.

But when she finally got to see her ex-husband in court, she told her son to wave to his father.

It was only after Pan Hui's death that Madam Xiu learnt of the teenager's dislike of Ong.

Madam Xiu saw her daughter's notes while going through her belongings.

She said: 'I never knew my daughter hated my ex-husband so much. Other than his violent episodes, they got on well.

'But I don't know if there was friction between them while I was at work.'

Madam Xiu said that as she dressed her dead daughter for her funeral, she urged her to forget any grudges she might have borne against Ong.

She said: 'I told her: 'Forget whatever hatred you had in your lifetime, and carry on with your final journey'.'

Pan Hui, who was in Primary 6 when she died, had aspired to be a doctor like her biological father and worried about her weak English grades.

So it was poignant that she scored an aggregate of 210 for her Primary School Leaving Examination, qualifying her for the Express stream.

Burnt result slip

Madam Xiu collected her daughter's result slip from Yishun Primary School on 23 Nov 2007 and burnt it as an offering to the girl in the netherworld.

She said: 'I visited her niche to tell her the good news. But I burnt it because I'll feel sad if I look at it.

'Besides, burning it would mean my daughter will receive it in the netherworld.'

Madam Xiu has picked up the pieces after her daughter died, moving into a flat she bought in Jurong East.

She said: 'Pan Hui was a very obedient child who never failed to please me. Even if she did something wrong and I scolded her, she'd understand. She may be gone but I treasure all my memories of her.

'She doted on her brother and I'll bring him up well. That'd be what my daughter wanted.'