Singapore: Indian-origin man gets 7 years in jail for stabbing pregnant wife

A 30-year-old Indian-origin man stabbed his pregnant wife in Singapore, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday. Jayselan N Chandrasegar flew into a rage after he spotted his pregnant wife, formerly a sex worker, talking to a man, he assumed was a pimp. He was sentenced to seven years in jail and six strokes of the cane for the act. Jayselan 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. Fortunately, the unborn baby was not harmed in the attack.

Jayselan 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.

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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. 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.

On December 30 last year when Mayuri was at the local market in the area, Jayselan saw her talking to man, who he assumed was a pimp and confronted them and accused his wife of becoming a sex worker again. Before Mayuri could reply, Jayselan punched and kicked her and then attacked her with the knife. He fled the scene after that and a passerby alerted the police. Jayselan was arrested later that day.

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His wife was taken to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was found to have injuries, including two minor injuries in the bowel. 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. 

(With PTI inputs)