SINGAPORE: A man who fell in love with a domestic helper his wife hired later felt that the maid had destroyed his life.
Muhammad Khairulnaim Rosli, 37, then threatened to kill her with a knife.
Khairulnaim, a Singaporean, was jailed for 40 days on Monday (Jun 16) upon pleading guilty to one count of criminal intimidation.
Khairulnaim resided with his wife and their two young children.
His wife hired the domestic helper, who began working for the family from Sep 10, 2023.
Three months into her employment, Khairulnaim developed romantic feelings for the victim and told her so.
The helper felt disturbed and uncomfortable, telling Khairulnaim in mid-December 2023 that she did not like him and blocked him from her social media.
Khairulnaim confessed his feelings for the helper to his wife, who then asked him for a divorce on Jan 1, 2024.
TRIED TO GET NUMBER OF HELPER’S HUSBAND
On Jan 12, 2024, Khairulnaim picked up the helper’s mobile phone and opened her WhatsApp chat history with her husband.
He wanted to take a photo of the husband’s phone number but failed to do so when the helper snatched her phone away.
She followed him to the storeroom to ask why Khairulnaim had taken her phone, but accidentally pushed the storeroom door with force.
Khairulnaim asked why the helper was angry with him and kicked the door thrice.
Later, Khairulnaim and his wife spoke over the phone, with Khairulnaim complaining that the victim had not fed his children rice.
He then had a nap and woke up in the evening to prepare for work. He felt angry with himself, the helper and his wife.
“He felt that the victim had destroyed his life and he felt that he could do the same by telling the victim’s husband that the victim had a boyfriend in Pakistan,” the prosecution said.
Khairulnaim then took urgent leave from his work.
At about 6pm, he took a knife with a 16cm blade from his kitchen. Raising the knife slightly above hip level, with the blade pointed at the helper, he told her he wanted to kill her.
His wife returned home minutes after the incident occurred and the helper fled from the unit as she feared for her safety.
A passer-by who saw the helper crying called the police. Khairulnaim was arrested that night.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ho May Kim urged the court to jail Khairulnaim between five-and-a-half weeks and seven weeks.
Ms Ho said Khairulnaim had been in a position of authority when he uttered the death threat, and had used a knife.
She said the prosecution had considered the mitigating factors in Khairulnaim’s case, namely that he was a first-time offender, that the threat was not prolonged, and how the victim was unharmed.
“The accused appears to have committed the offence on impulse,” said Ms Ho.
For criminal intimidation, Khairulnaim could have been jailed up to 20 years.
