SINGAPORE - A French businessman who was accused of smothering his American-Vietnamese girlfriend with a pillow and endangering her life was found guilty of committing a rash act.
Sylvain Christian Emile Pilhion was also found guilty of grabbing Ms Jocelyn Quynh-Anh Pohl's shoulders and pushing her onto the bed early morning on March 29, reported The Straits Times.
In total, he was fined $4,000.
Ms Pohl's testimony fell short of being unusually convincing, said District Judge Eddy Tham, saying she tended to exaggerate Mr Pilhion's faults, volunteering information which would be unfounded and contradicted by evidence.
While there had been some violence, a substantial amount of evidence had to be discounted by the judge due to her exaggeration of the amount of violence inflicted on her.
The two had gotten to know each other in February 2010 and became intimate within a month. The relationship turned sour when Ms Pohl suspected that Mr Pilhion was still seeing his estranged wife.
After a holiday in Europe, the two made up and stayed together at Ms Pohl's apartment in Kembangan. Shortly after midnight on March 29, he decided to join her while she was taking a shower, as it was their usual practice to bathe together. However, this made her angry and she left the bathroom instead.
Later in bed, she attempted to hit him. Using a pillow, he blocked her blows and pushed her head away, causing her to accuse him of trying to kill her.
When he tried to explain, her hand swung at him and went into his mouth; he instinctively bit down, but without force, reported the paper.
To contest her claim that he was 'scrounging off her', he presented proof that he was the co-owner of a fashion company in Paris and has registered a translation firm here.
