SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to six weeks’ jail on Friday (Oct 7) for throwing a knife out of his fourth-storey flat during a dispute with his wife.
Muhammad Adam Samsu Bari, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of a rash act endangering human life.
The court heard that Adam was with his wife in their flat at Block 484, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 at about 1pm on Jul 3 this year when they began quarrelling about financial matters.
Adam was in the kitchen preparing curry puffs while his wife was in a room. The pair shouted at each other as they quarrelled, and the argument grew heated.
Adam then threw a knife he was holding in his hand in the direction of the shelves near an open window.
The knife, which had an 18cm-long blade, fell out of the window and landed on the ground floor behind a nursery. No one was hurt.
A passer-by called the police at about 1.20pm, saying that there was a dispute between husband and wife. The police arrived at the scene and recovered the knife.
The prosecutor asked for six to eight weeks’ jail, noting that Adam had previous convictions but none similar to the current charge.
He said there was a need for general deterrence in killer litter cases, given the prevalence of high-rise buildings in Singapore. The object thrown here was a knife, which had greater potential to cause hurt to others, he added.
Adam gave only a written mitigation plea to the judge and asked if he could defer his sentence for a week. His wife stood bail for him. The judge granted his request and he will begin his jail term later this month.
For committing a rash act endangering human life, Adam could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$2,500, or both.