Perth mum who stabbed daughter’s secret boyfriend spared jail

A strict mother who stabbed her daughter’s secret boyfriend after she found the pair in bed together has avoided jail by the “narrowest of margins”, Perth’s District Court has heard.

Jennifer Chin, 49, was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of intending to harm a 14-year-old boy who her wayward daughter had sneaked into the family’s Parkwood home two years ago.

Jennifer Chin, 49, stabbed her daughter’s boyfriend in their Parkwood home.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt

Chin, a chartered accountant and devoted church member, claimed she thought the boy was an intruder who was going to hurt her when she told her then six-year-old son to fetch a knife from the kitchen upon finding the teenager in her husband’s bed.

She then chased the boyfriend out of the bedroom and cornered him by the front door as he was trying to escape, before rasing her arm above her head and stabbing him twice in the chest.

The boy ran past the woman and out of the house through another door with the girl before seeking medical attention.

His wounds were superficial and he did not need surgery, but Chin’s trial was told he thought he would die on the day of the incident and had suffered significant and ongoing psychological problems and repeated nightmares.

But, during her sentencing on Monday, the court heard Chin had shown no remorse for her actions and no empathy for the boy, with Judge Belinda Lonsdale telling her: “I suspect you have convinced yourself that your behaviour was justified.”

Chin’s lawyer Mark Andrews told Lonsdale it was “just another Tuesday night in the school term” when his client was “dragged into” a “confronting, chaotic and confusing predicament” that she overreacted to, using “excessive force”.

“[She was] thrust from her vanilla life as a suburban mum and housewife to the front page of The West Australian, lead stories in electronic media … she’s been named and shamed and now become a virtual recluse in her own home,” he said.

“Her relationship with her daughter severed on the day of that offence – prior to that they had a loving relationship.”

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The court heard Chin’s teenage daughter had been living with her grandparents since the incident and Chin had refused attempts at reconciliation.

“I would hope that you will change your mind about this,” Lonsdale said, before outlining a psychological assessment of Chin’s son, now eight years old.

Lonsdale said she believed the impact of sending Chin to jail would negatively affect the boy, and suspended her three-year sentence for a period of two years.

“You should be under no illusion that this is not a soft option,” she said.

“There is a supervision and program requirement … which mean you can atone for the harm you have caused.

“A suspended sentence is not for your benefit – there will always be an exception to the rule with someone serving an immediate term of imprisonment ... this is a rare and exceptional case where suspension is justified.”

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