Jail, caning for man who dragged girlfriend on floor, assaulted her twice, smothered her with pillow

SINGAPORE — He first assaulted his girlfriend in public by choking her, hitting her head against the ground multiple times, pulling off her shirt and bra and pinning her to the ground.

She stayed with him for two more years, until finally telling him she wanted to end the relationship.

When she did so, he sat on her abdomen area to prevent her from leaving, choked her once more, smothered her face with a pillow and threatened to kill her when she said that she would call the police.

He also tried to have sex with her intermittently to resolve the matter, but the quarrelling and violence did not stop for a few hours.

On Thursday (Aug 4), the 32-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two years and six weeks’ jail along with three strokes of the cane for his actions, which took place from 2019 to 2021.

He was working as a chef at the time of his offences.

He had pleaded guilty to one offence each of aggravated molestation, voluntarily causing hurt to someone he was in an intimate relationship with and possessing offensive instruments.

Four other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

He cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identity of his then-girlfriend, a 38-year-old Thai national.

FIRST ATTACK

The court heard that the first incident happened in the wee hours of July 10, 2019.

He had accompanied his girlfriend to a nightclub at Balmoral Plaza and took a pair of sharpening rods with him, which were the offensive instruments he was found to have in his possession.

After that, they went to have supper near his place along Kreta Ayer Road near Chinatown.

While waiting for his friend to arrive, they argued and she walked off towards Keong Saik Road. He followed her, grabbed her forcefully by the neck and snatched her handbag and mobile phone so that she had no choice but to follow him.

When she fell, he dragged her on the ground until she managed to break free and cross the road.

He then caught up with her, picked her up and threw her to the ground. She began crying and shouting loudly, trying to flee once more.

Near a restaurant along Keong Saik Road, he pushed her to the ground, choked her by the neck, slapped her face multiple times, grabbed her head and hit it against the ground, pulled off her shirt and bra, pinned her to the ground and pressed her head down while covering her mouth.

She suffered multiple bruises and abrasions from this attack.

He released her moments later and helped her to dress, but then hoisted her against his shoulder and walked towards his home while she struggled.

He soon put her down and she ran to hide in some bushes near a housing block where he lived.

She then tried to find him and get her belongings back before encountering the police, who had detained him.

SECOND ATTACK

Two years passed before they got into another argument on June 10 last year. They were at home this time.

He refused her request to break up and they fought till 5am before falling asleep.

Later that morning, they argued once more when she told him that they had to finalise their breakup. She slapped him when he used vulgarities while talking about her parents.

He then grabbed her neck and wrists, sat on her abdomen area to stop her from leaving, and prevented her from shouting for help by choking her neck.

He also covered her mouth with his hands, scratched her face with his hands and smothered her with a pillow. When she said that she would call the police, he threatened to kill her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao told the court: “Intermittently, the accused would try to have sex with the victim as a way to resolve the matter, but the quarrelling did not stop and the accused would continue being violent with the victim.”

Later that afternoon, she managed to calm him down and persuade him to let her call her family.

While doing so, she sent text messages by phone to some friends, telling them to call the police to help her. Police officers then arrived and arrested her boyfriend.

His sentence was backdated to June 12, 2021 when he was remanded in prison.