SINGAPORE: A 28-year-old man who kicked his wife’s face and body during an argument was jailed for eight weeks on Friday (Dec 27).
Wei Zaotong pleaded guilty to a single charge of voluntarily causing hurt to his wife in their home.
The couple were quarrelling late at night on Dec 12. In the middle of their argument, Wei’s wife knelt before him.
Wei reacted by kicking her face and body multiple times. The woman fell backwards and hit her head against a glass panel.
The assault reopened an old wound on the woman’s lips and she started bleeding. Wei stopped when he saw the blood. The woman then called the police.
She was examined at the hospital on Dec 15 and found to have tenderness on the left side of her head, face and nose, as well as bruises on her legs, a cut on her thigh and a lower lip ulcer.
Wei was previously convicted in 2021 of criminal intimidation and multiple counts of voluntarily causing hurt within an intimate relationship, for which he served time in jail.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Xavier Tan asked for nine to 10 weeks’ imprisonment on Friday, highlighting Wei’s prior conviction on multiple counts of the same offences.
“He had thus demonstrated recalcitrance and a clear propensity of violence against his wife, a vulnerable victim who should be protected from violence in her family home,” Mr Tan said.
In mitigation, Wei told the court that after his previous conviction, he had been “controlling (his) anger” for the past few years.
He said that the argument with his wife happened after he found out she had been dating other men for three years.
He said that his wife knelt in front of him to plead him not to divorce her but he acted impulsively, resulting in the offence.
The man said that he “lost control” and found it difficult to control his emotions, but knew he had made a mistake with his actions.
“When there are issues, I should have resolved it in a peaceful manner and probably engaged a lawyer for the divorce instead of using violent means,” he said through a Mandarin interpreter.
“I know that my violent behaviour is wrong and I am feeling very guilty about it.”
District Judge A Sangeetha asked Wei if he would see a court counsellor to assess the reasons behind his offences and put a plan in place to reduce the risk of him reoffending.
She said this was because his offences involved family violence.
Wei agreed to see the court counsellor.
The penalty for voluntarily causing hurt is up to three years in jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both. As the victim was in an intimate relationship with Wei, he could have received double this punishment.
