Married man admits beating girlfriend to death, angry at her relationships with other men
Source: CNA
SINGAPORE: A married man had an affair but began abusing his girlfriend over her relationships with other men, with the assault intensifying until he eventually beat her to death.
M Krishnan, a 40-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty in court on Friday (Apr 12) to one count of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The victim, 40-year-old Singaporean Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman, died of a head injury on Jan 17, 2019, after Krishnan assaulted her repeatedly.
The court heard that Krishnan met Ms Mallika in 2015. They began a romantic relationship shortly after, while Krishnan was still married to another woman.
In November 2015, Krishnan's wife returned home and saw Krishnan with Ms Mallika drinking alcohol in the master bedroom.
Upset, the wife used vulgarities against Krishnan, who punched her in the face and grabbed a whisky bottle.
As she was afraid of being hit with the bottle, the wife apologised and later obtained a personal protection order against Krishnan. They remain married today.
Krishnan continued dating Ms Mallika until she died. He admitted hitting her at least once in 2017, over a "trivial matter", but the abuse intensified from January 2019.
This was after Ms Mallika confessed that she had sexual relations with other men, such as when Krishnan was in jail from October 2018 to December 2018.
On Jan 15, 2019, a day before the fatal assault, Ms Mallika made a similar confession while drinking alcohol with Krishnan at his flat.
Krishnan reacted by slapping her, punching her ribs and kicking her thigh.
Ms Mallika pleaded with Krishnan not to leave, but he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head against a wardrobe.
Ms Mallika got up, stumbled to the kitchen and slumped in front of a cabinet.
Krishnan pushed her forehead so it hit a cabinet, before helping her get up.
Ms Mallika went to the hospital the next day with bruises on her hips and multiple abrasions on her face, hands and forearms.
Meanwhile, Krishnan drank alcohol throughout the day on Jan 16, 2019.
That night, the couple spoke to Ms Mallika's sister on the phone about Ms Mallika's relationship with another person.
After the call ended at about 11.30pm, Krishnan felt angry and frustrated over Ms Mallika's relationships with other men and began assaulting her again.
He slapped her face, grabbed her by the hair and punched and kicked her, landing kicks even when she was on the ground.
After helping her to the bed, Krishnan realised that the woman was not breathing or responding.
He called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for help at about 1.40am on Jan 17, 2019.
Krishnan then called his nephew and asked him to go to the unit to check on Ms Mallika, admitting that he had hit her.
The nephew found Ms Mallika lying on the bed with her eyes closed and face badly swollen. He could not feel a pulse and called his uncle to ask what happened.
In response, Krishnan said he had called for an ambulance.
SCDF officers found Ms Mallika lying on the bed, which was stained with what appeared to be blood. She was pronounced dead at about 1.50am.
Krishnan surrendered at Police Cantonment Complex at about 1pm that day and was arrested.
An autopsy indicated Ms Mallika's cause of death as "head injury", but also listed multiple other injuries on her.
These include multiple fractured ribs, bruises all over her body, bleeding in her head and a "midline shift" of her brain.
Krishnan underwent a psychiatric evaluation and was found to be suffering from adjustment order at the time of the offence. He was also intoxicated, but the psychiatrist found no contributory link between the intoxication, mental illness and the offence.
In a further report, the psychiatrist stated that Krishnan also had intermittent explosive disorder (IED), which is a condition involving frequent impulsive anger outbursts or aggression. He also had a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, although he was in remission.
The psychiatrist found that Krishnan's IED had "some contribution" to the commission of the offence, but did not impair his judgment and self-control on its own.
However, he said the level of violence inflicted on the victim was likely caused by the alcohol intoxication adding to the IED.
Krishnan has multiple past convictions dating from 2003 for offences like housebreaking by night, using criminal force on a public servant, using abusive words towards a public servant and disorderly behaviour.
The prosecution and defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary did not make arguments on sentencing on Friday. Instead, they asked for time to prepare arguments on "certain issues that have arisen", and were granted their request.
The case will be heard again on Apr 19.
There are two possible sets of penalties for culpable homicide not amounting to murder: Life imprisonment and caning; or a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine or caning.