After the police left, the man became angry when his wife declined his request for sex.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan said he then threatened to “break” her face, uttering a threat along the lines of “I better finish you off”.
Later, the court heard that the man charged towards her suddenly and tried to hit her.
“The victim ran into her son’s room. The accused chased after her and told her not to put on a show. He also told their son not to get involved,” said DPP Tan.
He then punched his wife in the face, causing her to fall backwards and hit a cupboard. His son immediately pushed the accused away, and his wife quickly ran out of the house with blood on her face to call the police.
His wife was hospitalised for seven days as his assault broke her nose, blurred her vision in the right eye and fractured her middle finger, among other injuries.
MOVED IN WITH MOTHER
His wife soon obtained a personal protection order and a domestic exclusion order against him. As a result, the man was kicked out of the home around March 2021.
With nowhere else to stay, he turned to his mother, who is physically weak due to old age and uses a walking stick. She took her son in, going against the wishes of her two granddaughters who opposed the move as the man was prone to violence.
She insisted on allowing him to stay with her as the man is her son, and if she does not take him in, he would not have anywhere else to go.
Court documents said she would sleep on the bed, while the man would sleep on the floor or sofa in the same room. There was a curtain between their sleeping areas.
On Apr 27, 2021, after eating his dinner, he chatted with his mother in the living room. At this point, he had drunk at least 20 cans of beers throughout the day.
As they were talking at around 11pm, the man suddenly placed his belt around his mother’s neck and tightened it, releasing it only after his mother held on to the strap.
His mother went to bed shortly after, and the man followed her to the same bed and hugged her while lying down, court documents stated.
She told him to return to his sleeping area as this was inappropriate, but he went ahead to hug her tighter, then tried to sexually assault her.
The court heard how his mother tried to struggle and told him repeatedly to stop, but the man responded by violently punching her in the face, strangling her as well as shouting vulgarities at her.
The assault stopped only after the man became tired and fell asleep. Meanwhile, the victim got dressed and sat on a chair near the bed, unable to sleep for the whole night.
The next morning, the man told his mother that he would kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone, said DPP Tan.
Later on, she told her neighbour what happened when the neighbour asked her why her mouth was swollen, the court heard.
Her grandchildren called the police soon after when the neighbour informed them of the incident, and he was arrested.
Separately, on Mar 24, 2021, the man also spat at a police officer and attempted to kick him several times while in the lock-up at Woodlands Police Divisional Headquarters.
This was after he was found lying on the roadside in Yishun while drunk.
“MENACE TO SOCIETY”
DPP Tan described the man as a “hardened criminal with a violent disposition”, noting he has over 50 entries on his criminal records.
Despite his multiple stints in prison, this has not stopped him from committing crimes, said the prosecution. His past crimes, which date back to 1982, include voluntarily causing hurt, disorderly behaviour and housebreaking.
She called for a preventive detention suitability report, stating that he is a “menace to society”.
In his mitigation plea, the man said he had made a “big mistake” and that his actions were because of alcohol.
He also said his mother had arranged his marriage, and blamed his wife for running away on the second day of marriage, which caused him nightmares. He added that he had no love for his mother or wife, but did not elaborate.
The case was adjourned to a later date for the man’s sentencing.
This article was originally published in TODAY.