"We might have to sell our house or borrow money from our relatives to pay the legal fees - whatever it takes to clear their names," Kuek Soo Lan told The Straits Times from Malaysia.

The 52-year-old, who works in Singapore as a promoter at supermarket chain Giant, was slashed by a machete-wielding robber in the wee hours of February 24 while visiting her Malaysian husband's family in Negeri Sembilan over the Chinese New Year period.

Her husband and son are now in a detention facility. "My son can't stop crying and it really broke my heart," an emotional Kuek said in Mandarin over the phone.

Her husband, Moo He Hong, 59, is a part-time cook while her son, Moo Wee Keong, 29, recently left his job with a telco. They learnt two days ago that they were being charged for the murder of the robber, Chen Wen Bao.

Kuek said that she and her husband had arrived at their Malaysian house - located in a remote and dimly-lit area - at about 12:30am on the day of the incident.

As Kuek was walking to the front of the house, she said that a masked man rushed out from the shadows and attempted to grab her bag.

"At first, I thought he was just carrying a blunt stick and not a knife, so I put up a struggle. I only realised it was one when I saw the blood," she explained.

She suffered slash wounds on her left arm and fingers, which required 25 stitches. She has not worked since the incident and has yet to regain full mobility in her fingers.

Moo, who was parking their Malaysia-registered car, then managed to knock the man to the ground with a pipe.

By then, the sleeping Wee Keong was alerted to his mother's cries for help and rushed out to help pin down the man. They then tied up the man with some rope.

Moo then drove Kuek to a nearby clinic for treatment without waiting for the police to arrive.

He returned 15 minutes later to the house to discover that Chen had died.

Kuek was told by the police that Chen had died from "chest injuries probably caused by multiple blows to the area".

Witnesses had apparently told the police that Wee Keong may caused the man'€™s death by sitting on him during the early stages of the struggle.

"The robber was taller and bigger than both my husband and son. How could a few blows and my son sitting on him briefly kill him? It doesn't make sense."

Both have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. (***)

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