Singapore: An Indian-origin man was sentenced to seven years in jail and six strokes of the cane for stabbing his pregnant wife, who used to be a sex worker.
Jayselan N Chandrasegar flew into a rage after he spotted his pregnant wife talking to a man, he assumed was a pimp, reported The Straits Times Wednesday.
He used a knife with a 10-cm blade to stab his wife, Mayuri Krishnakumar, in her abdomen twice. He also slashed her back before fleeing the scene.
The court heard on Tuesday that the unborn baby was not harmed in the attack.
Jayselan, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt to the 27-year-old woman with a weapon, and one count of failing to provide his urine sample after he was caught for suspected drug-related offences earlier.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Houston Johannus told the court the couple married in 2013, but their marriage soured in October last year due to frequent quarrels over money and their older child, who was then three years old.
When Mayuri told Jayselan, who worked as a cleaner, that she was pregnant, he refused to believe that the child was his and accused her of infidelity.
Unable to tolerate his aggression and verbal abuse anymore, she ran away from their home on December 24 last year and sought refuge with her former friends, who were mainly sex workers in a "red-light" area. She also lived with them in their rented rooms, the court heard.
At around 11 am on December 30, Mayuri was buying breakfast in the area when she spotted an old friend, known only as Nanda, and started chatting with him.
Jayselan, who happened to be in the vicinity, became angry when he spotted the pair as he suspected that Nanda was a pimp.
He confronted them and accused his wife of becoming a sex worker again. Nanda then walked away, the court heard.
Before Mayuri could reply, Jayselan punched and kicked his wife, then attacked her with the knife.
He fled the scene after that and a passerby alerted the police. Jayselan was arrested later that day.
His wife was taken to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was found to have injuries, including two small bowel perforations.
The court heard that the baby was at an unknown gestational age. Mayuri was discharged from the hospital on January 5 this year, said DPP Johannus.
Before the attack, police officers on patrol had, on October 26, nabbed Jayselan for suspected drug-related offences. The court heard that he had refused to provide a urine sample to the police.
Defence lawyer Gregory Fong pleaded for a jail term of between five and five-and-a-half years. He also said Mayuri had forgiven Jayselan and the couple remained married.
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