Man jailed for assaulting wife after she 'nagged' and called him by the wrong name
Photo illustration of abuse. (File photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
SINGAPORE: A man repeatedly assaulted his wife after drinking alcohol and after she "nagged" at him and accidentally called him by the name of her son with her ex-husband.
When their dispute escalated such that the police were called, the man cursed at the officers and told a female station inspector that her buttocks felt "so fluffy".
Mohamad Farali Khan Ismail Khan, 31, was jailed for a year and fined S$4,000 on Thursday (Apr 8). He pleaded guilty to three charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his wife, voluntarily causing hurt to her and insulting a public servant.
A fourth charge of leaving his home during the "circuit breaker" period was considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Farali married the victim, a 52-year-old woman, in December 2019. They lived together in a flat.
The first incident occurred on the night of Mar 8 last year while the couple was in their bedroom. Farali drank alcohol and argued with his wife. He claimed that she was nagging at him and he hit her head thrice with his palm.
When she tried to block the blows, Farali intentionally hit her hand with his, fracturing her index finger. His wife asked him to take her to the hospital, and he did so. She was diagnosed with a fracture of her finger and a head injury.
The hospital contacted the police that day informing them of a case of spousal violence.
THE SECOND INCIDENT
The second incident occurred a few months later. Farali drank alcohol before driving his wife to her godparents' home past midnight on May 25 last year to deliver home-cooked food to them.
After they left her godparents' home on the 12th floor, the couple was walking to the lift when the victim mistakenly called him by the name of her son from her first marriage.
This angered Farali, who slapped her face and pulled her by the hair when they got out of the lift on the ground floor. He then swung her by her hair, causing her to hit a rubbish bin nearby.
After this, Farali smoked a cigarette and drank from a can of beer that he had with him.
When a man walked by and asked the victim if she was alright, Farali shouted at him to go away and said it was a "husband and wife issue", while his wife remained silent.
The passer-by left, and the victim returned to her godparents' home to ask for help. Farali scolded her in the corridor outside the flat, and the victim's godbrother called the police.
Police officers arrived at the scene at about 2.20am and separated the couple. Farali grew agitated and cursed at a female station inspector as she arrested him.
He also hurled Cantonese and Hokkien vulgarities at the officer. As she held onto him, Farali said: "Eh, I can feel your a**, so fluffy," according to Deputy Public Prosecutor Gabriel Lim.
The prosecutor said the amendment of the Penal Code served to provide greater protection to victims who are more vulnerable and susceptible to abuse and violence including in situations where parties are in positions of special trust.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Farali could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined and caned. As the offence was against his wife, he could have received up to double the sentence.
