10 weeks' jail for man who assaulted girlfriend despite multiple police reports made against him
SINGAPORE — A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Thursday (Oct 27) for repeatedly assaulting his girlfriend, once while their infant daughter was asleep in the same room.
SINGAPORE — A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Thursday (Oct 27) for repeatedly assaulting his girlfriend, once while their infant daughter was asleep in the same room.
The Singaporean, who cannot be named due to a court order to protect his victim’s identity, pleaded guilty to three charges of voluntarily causing hurt to a person with whom he was in an intimate relationship.
The provision, which allows for enhanced punishments, took effect in 2020 as part of wide-ranging amendments to the Penal Code.
Two other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The man was also ordered to compensate the victim S$270.40 for her medical bills. They are no longer in a relationship.
The court heard that the man first became violent towards his girlfriend on Jan 23 last year.
While driving to her parents’ home to pick up their baby daughter, they began quarrelling after he questioned her about a photograph on social media of her and her ex-boyfriend.
He then parked the car before pulling her hair and grabbing her hand.
She managed to break free and asked him to let her fetch their daughter before resolving their dispute. When she went up to her parents’ flat, she called the police.
He left before police officers arrived.
A few days later, they were scrolling through their Facebook feeds while at his parents’ home.
They argued once more when he saw that she had received a message from an ex-boyfriend. He then punched her shin a few times.
She started crying and told him to stop. He later helped to apply ointment on the bruises.
The next day, she left the flat and asked for help from her cousin, who called the police on her behalf.
Four months later, he abused her again while their baby was in the same room.
They were sleeping when he woke her up and asked if she still loved him. When an argument arose, he bit her on the forearm.
Their baby began to cry from the commotion.
The man’s girlfriend urged him to stop quarrelling and disturbing the baby's sleep. They had sex to calm him down and then they both went back to sleep.
Later that afternoon, they argued in the car again while on the way to their nanny’s home. He hit her arm during the quarrel.
When they got to the nanny’s block of flats, she went to the nanny’s home with their daughter and asked for help to call the police.
On Thursday, a prosecutor told the court that the man remained undeterred despite the victim repeatedly reporting him to the police.
When asked if he had anything to say in mitigation, the man shook his head and said: “I admit.” He was not represented by a lawyer.
He could have been jailed up to six years or fined up to S$10,000, or both, for each offence.