Woman with psychotic disorder jailed for assaulting husband with golf clubs, vegetable peeler

SINGAPORE — A woman whose psychotic disorder was not diagnosed assaulted her husband with four different golf clubs and stopped only when their daughter intervened.

Mr Chong Zheng Ye, 51, suffered facial fractures, as well as injuries to his eye and brain, during the attack in their Yishun flat in March this year.

He was hospitalised for three days and given more than a month of medical leave.

On Thursday (July 18), his 44-year-old Vietnamese wife, Phan Thi Ngoc Dung, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ jail, in what District Judge May Mesenas called a “most unfortunate incident”.

Phan pleaded guilty to causing hurt to Mr Chong knowing she would likely cause grievous hurt. The charge carries a maximum jail term of 10 years, and she could also have been fined.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Yen Seow said that while she was originally charged with causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon, which attracts a heavier punishment, the prosecution downgraded the charge. He did not elaborate why.

The court heard that the assault was sparked by a quarrel at 4.15am on March 29.

At one point, Phan tried to stab Mr Chong in the back with a vegetable peeler. When it broke, she used a golf club from a bag lying on the floor of their bedroom to hit his back.

Even though he shouted at her to stop, she took another golf club and hit him on the top of his head three times, then on his back a few more times.

Mr Chong tried to run to the living room. Brandishing another golf club, she struck him on his left eye, and finally used another one to hit the back of his head twice.

Their daughter woke up due to the commotion and restrained Phan.

Mr Chong called the police, saying: “My wife wants to kill me, I got blood all over my face.”

Phan was later arrested.

‘SERIOUS’ MENTAL ILLNESS

Asking for two-and-a-half years’ jail, DPP Tan pointed out some aggravating factors in “this vicious and bloody display of violence on a defenceless victim”.

This included the use of an array of weapons, and that she used a significance amount of force during the attack, as could be inferred from Mr Chong’s injuries.

However, DPP Tan acknowledged that Phan’s actions were “greatly influenced by her delusional behaviour”, and she had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

In mitigation, Phan’s lawyer, Mr Noor Mohamed Marican, told the court that she is now cooperative and taking medication for her mental illness. She was diagnosed with it after being referred to the Institute of Mental Health in April after the attack.

Reading from the psychiatrist’s report, the lawyer said: “Her actions were greatly influenced by her delusional belief that her husband was having an affair, as well as her paranoid state of mind at the time.”

When the judge asked if she had any social support, Mr Noor Mohamed responded that she has no friends here, but wants to remain in Singapore for her daughter — whom she had with another man — so that the girl may continue studying here.

Mr Noor Mohamed added that Mr Chong’s lawyer visited her in prison to try to serve divorce papers on her, but she did not agree to it. 

The couple have been married since 2013. She is unemployed and in Singapore on a long-term visit pass.

District Judge Mesenas urged Phan to continue getting treatment, whether she remains here or returns to Vietnam. She also said that she would convene a community court conference for Phan to see a counsellor, who can follow up with her when she is released.