Woman hits neighbour with mop until its handle breaks into 3

In the heat of an argument over parenting styles, a woman threatened her husband she would tell the police he had raped her, and told their teenage son she was going to kill his father in his sleep.

Jessinta Tan Suat Lin, 50, also hit a female neighbour with a mop until its aluminium handle broke into three because she did not stop skipping rope in a common area after Tan asked her to.

On Jan 2, Tan pleaded guilty to three charges – one each for committing a rash act, voluntarily causing hurt and harassment.

Two more charges – for harassment and another rash act – will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The housewife is a former journalist who previously worked with news platforms including Today.

On the evening of Feb 16, 2024, Tan was at her home at Westmont condominium at West Coast Road when her neighbour began exercising with a skipping rope at the common area near the swimming pool.

Frustrated because her son wanted to rest, Tan approached her neighbour and asked her to stop exercising but she refused.

Tan then hurled profanities and threw five or six eggs at the woman from a window at around 9.50pm.

About 10 minutes later, Tan took a mop with an aluminium handle and attacked the woman, biting her arm and hitting her on the head with the mop’s handle until it broke into three.

She also threw a bag of rubbish and an incense bin at the woman but missed.

The victim called the police and went to the hospital where she was found to have suffered injuries to her head and arms. She later moved out of the condo because of the incident.

Tan was arrested and bailed out by her husband.

But about two months later, an argument over their parenting styles escalated into Tan threatening to kill him in his sleep.

Around 8.45pm on April 28, 2024, she used her mobile phone to send him a text message with vulgar language which also stated: “I’ll jump bail next month.”

Less than an hour later, at around 9.35pm, she told their teenage son she might kill his father in his sleep.

She said: “I will just kill him one day. He might just die one day in his sleep. One day, when I am really mad, he will die in his sleep. He better lock his door when he sleeps at night.”

Later that night, she also threatened her husband saying she would tell the police he raped her.

The husband then made a police report against Tan for the threats.

On Jan 2, Tan’s lawyer, Mr Ramachandran Shiever Subramaniam, said that Tan was a loving mother who had a strained relationship with her husband.

He asked the court for leniency, saying Tan suffers from anxiety and depression, and regrets her actions but makes no excuses for them.

There were no further comments in court regarding the rape allegations.

District Judge Crystal Goh called for a report to determine Tan’s suitability for a mandatory treatment order, which is a type of sentence that mandates psychiatric treatment for offenders with mental health conditions.

The case has been adjourned for sentencing on Feb 11, and Tan is currently out on $10,000 bail.

For voluntarily causing hurt, she may be jailed for up to three years and fined $5,000.

For a rash act, she may be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,500.