Man jailed 1 year for violent assault of wife at LRT station in front of their children
The assault, described by the judge as "violent and sustained", took place at Pending LRT Station, witnessed by the couple's children and members of the public.
SINGAPORE — For assaulting his then-wife in a “violent and sustained” manner at an LRT station in Bukit Panjang, a 36-year-old man was sentenced to a year behind bars on Friday (March 20).
He had repeatedly punched the victim in the face, before kicking her in the face and stamping on her head twice when she fell to the ground and fainted. Their six-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son watched on in tears.
A woman who witnessed the attack from her bedroom eventually called the police. The couple has since divorced.
The man, who cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identities of his family members, pleaded guilty last year to causing grievous hurt to the victim.
He also admitted to a second charge of breaching a personal protection order that she had against him.
District Judge Seah Chi-Ling agreed to an application by his lawyer Hanny Soh to allow the man to begin serving his sentence on April 20 as he has some domestic issues to settle.
Ms Soh, who sought six months’ jail and a S$2,000 fine for her client, argued in mitigation that he had been angered when he learnt that his wife was about to leave him for good with their children.
“He is genuinely remorseful… In the aftermath of the dispute, my client has not been able to see his children,” she added.
District Judge Seah noted that the assault left the victim with a broken nose and jaw, which required surgery to fix. The woman was hospitalised for five days and given 34 days’ of medical leave.
“Their children could only watch helplessly as he inflicted significant acts of violence on their mother. It must have caused significant public disquiet,” he said.
While the man had pleaded guilty, the judge said that the public nature of his offence meant that he was “pretty much caught red-handed”.
“The manner of his attacks was violent and sustained. It is troubling that he targeted the victim’s head repeatedly,” District Judge Seah said.
The court heard that the couple had been married for nine years, but were having marital issues in the days leading up to the offences, with the victim staying with her parents.
At about 10pm on Aug 26, 2018, the couple and their children were at Pending LRT Station, when the woman told her husband that she wanted to return to her mother's place that night.
He then grabbed her hand and asked that she return to their matrimonial home. When she refused, he pushed her suddenly to the wall and punched her thrice on her face.
She fell backwards onto the floor and fainted.
Despite this, he continued attacking her on the face and head, and her face started to bleed and swell. She tried to shout for help, but he covered her mouth with his hand.
The entire incident was witnessed by members of the public, while their two children began crying and shouting for their father to stop.
A 47-year-old woman who saw the incident from the master bedroom of her nearby apartment called the police immediately after seeing the man stamp on the victim's head.
Passers-by intervened and helped the woman, but the man stood by.
As a result of the attack, the victim suffered various injuries including a fracture of her jawbone, bruising over her arm and finger, and bleeding on her skull.
