A Perth mother who stabbed her teenage daughter's 14-year-old boyfriend has avoided a prison sentence. Jennifer Mui Len Chin, 49, was found guilty of causing bodily harm after stabbing the boy twice in the chest in October 2023. The District Court handed her a three-year jail term, suspended for two years, allowing her to walk free.
The court heard that Chin's 14-year-old daughter had secretly invited the boy into their Parkwood home. Chin discovered him semi-naked under a doona in her husband's bedroom. Believing he was an intruder, she armed herself with a kitchen knife and stabbed him as he tried to flee. Judge Belinda Lonsdale described the reaction as unreasonable and noted that Chin showed no remorse, insisting she acted to protect her family.
The boy continues to suffer lasting trauma from the incident. Judge Lonsdale said it was by the 'narrowest of margins' that she suspended the jail term, calling it a 'rare and exceptional case.' Chin was ordered to undertake supervision and program requirements.
During the trial, the court learned that the daughter had been sneaking the boy into the house on multiple occasions, despite Chin's strict Christian beliefs forbidding relationships. On the night of the stabbing, Chin called on her six-year-old son to fetch a knife. She claimed the boy looked 'cocky' before she stabbed him. The judge noted that Chin's actions were 'opportunistic, unplanned, and entirely out of character,' stemming from 'profound shock' and 'anger.'
