Man fined $2,000 for breaking wife's nose
Following a dispute over their children, a 48-year-old man punched his wife's face multiple times, causing injuries including a broken nose.
Ong Kim Huat was fined $2,000 yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of assault. A second charge, that he had used a cane to hit her back repeatedly, was considered during sentencing.
Ong and his 41-year-old wife were in their Yishun flat around 11pm on March 17 last year when they started quarrelling after the couple's older son was handed to Ong's sister. Court documents did not mention how the boy ended up in her care.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Yanying said: "The victim took a fruit knife and told the accused to kill her. The victim held the knife such that its blade was pointing towards herself. The accused ignored (her)... the dispute ended and (she) put the knife away."
But soon after, Ong used a cane to hit his wife's back. He rained blows on her face, causing her nose to bleed.
"The accused claimed that he had caned and punched the victim to send her a message that her use of a knife... was wrong," said DPP Tan.
The wife later went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she was found to have a broken nose and a 1cm cut over her right eye. She alerted the police.
Yesterday, Ong's lawyer, Mr Luke Lee, told the court that his client's marriage is "still subsisting and happy", adding that the assault was a one-off and that the couple's son will return to his parents soon. District Judge Luke Tan noted that the wife has since forgiven her attacker and the couple have reconciled.
For assault, Ong could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.
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