SINGAPORE, June 6 — A 30-year-old man in Singapore was sentenced today to seven years, 11 months and 191 days in jail, with nine strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to 10 charges related to violence against his girlfriend and other offences, The Straits Times reported.

The charges included voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, wrongful confinement and drug offences. An additional 472 days were added to his sentence as the crimes were committed while he was under a remission order for earlier drug convictions.

The man cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim’s identity. The abuse occurred at their shared Tampines flat between 2022 and early 2023. The couple have since separated.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan said the most serious assault took place in January 2023. The woman had wanted to leave the house to meet her godfather, but the man, suspicious and angry, dragged her into the bedroom and questioned if she was having an affair.

“He then hit her with a mop handle until she fell to the ground before making her strip naked and using her bra to tie her wrists together. He used her shorts to tie up her feet,” he reportedly told the court.

He then pressed a saw to her thigh, injuring her, and took a video of her as she lay naked. He later struck her head and thighs with a wooden hammer. DPP Tan said she forgave him after the incident.

In September 2022, the man tied her hands to the bed with a cable tie and poured gas lighter fluid on her after she received a call he suspected was from a male intern.

“He then held it with an open flame close to her chest, burning her,” said DPP Tan.

Though the call wasn’t from the intern, the woman admitted it was to avoid further harm. The man later released her and cooked for her.

In June 2022, while in jail, the man also attacked a 62-year-old inmate who had asked for bread, punching and kneeing him until he fell unconscious. The inmate had to be resuscitated in hospital.

DPP Tan said the fact that the man committed repeated offences within a domestic relationship was an aggravating factor:

“The victim said she had forgiven the accused, but that does not make what he did any less egregious.”

Defence lawyer A. Revi Shanker said his client had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder at the time and was “possessive” and “a bit jealous”:

“The disorder contributed to his anger and the way he reacted, but what he did was not premeditated. He acknowledges the seriousness of his actions.”

Under Singapore law, voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon can carry up to seven years’ jail, fines and caning. Wrongful confinement can lead to up to three years’ jail, fines, or both.

*If you are experiencing domestic violence, the following hotlines offer free and confidential support: Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp 019-2615999 (24/7); All Women’s Action Society at 016-2374221 / 016-2284221 (9.30am-5.30pm); and Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) at 03-30008858 or SMS/WhatsApp TINA 018-9888058 (24/7).