Illustrative photo.
SINGAPORE: A man spun a web of lies to get his wife in trouble with the law and even used a knife to cut his own hand before telling the police that she had caused the injury.
He also lied that she had tried to kill their two-year-old son by choking the child.
As a result, an officer arrested the 42-year-old woman in September 2023 and she was charged with assault in a district court.
She was later remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
Two days after she was released from IMH on Oct 13, 2023, the 39-year-old man finally revealed the truth in a statement to the authorities.
On Wednesday (July 10), he was sentenced to two months’ jail after pleading guilty to one count each of giving false information to a public servant and providing false evidence.
He cannot be named to protect the identity of his son as those below 18 are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act.
At the time of the offences, the woman had an existing personal protection order against the man.
At around 9am on Sept 28, 2023, he sent her a text message stating that he was going to their home to collect some clothes.
He went to the Punggol flat some time between 9pm and 11pm that day and had a quarrel with his wife over undisclosed matters.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan told the court: “In a fit of anger, the accused stormed into the kitchen and dialled ‘999’... He reported as follows: ‘My wife is killing my son now. Totally drunk. Send someone now.’
“(The wife identified in court documents as V1) ignored the accused and entered the bedroom together with her son, closing the door behind her.”
After that, the man purposely cut his left hand with a knife he retrieved from the kitchen – he wanted the injury to be used as “evidence” during a police investigation into the matter.
Two police officers arrived at the scene at around 12.30am on Sept 29, 2023, and one of them arrested the wife on suspicion of committing assault.
The husband recorded a statement with another officer at around 2.30am that day.
DPP Tan said: “During the statement recording, the accused informed that V1 had (choked) their son for three to five seconds...with such force that their son jerked backwards.
"According to the accused, he intervened, following which V1 went to the kitchen to take out a knife before running towards him.
“He narrated how she... tried to stab his facial area, and that she cut his left hand when he raised his hand to block her attack.”
The court heard that the man concluded the fictitious story by stating that he called the police as he feared for the safety of their son.
Court documents did not disclose if the couple are still together. - The Straits Times/ANN
