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A VIETNAMESE woman had decided to end her relationship with a Frenchman in February. But when he insisted on coming to Singapore to visit her in March, she agreed to let him stay in her Kembangan apartment.
Yesterday, businessman Sylvain Christian Emile Pilhion, 38, went on trial for allegedly trying to smother her with a pillow in the early hours of March 29.
He is also accused of using criminal force to restrain Ms Jocelyn Quynh-Anh Pohl, 38, from leaving her apartment in Jalan Masjid.
He is said to have grabbed her, tossed her on a bed and bit her left hand before trying to smother her.
The court was not told why he did so.
He is denying the charges.
Testifying yesterday, Ms Pohl, a headhunter, said her relationship with the accused began early last year.
In February this year, she had wanted to end it after finding out he had lied to her about his divorce from a Chinese national.
Ms Pohl had discovered he was still seeing his wife, who lives in China, and staying with her occasionally.
She confirmed that she had called police at 3am on March 29 with the message: “My boyfriend tried to kill me, tried to suffocate me. He is in my apartment right now.”
She said they had agreed he would visit her in February but, by then, she had decided to end the relationship. But he insisted on coming over in March. She decided to accommodate him only because he had no more money after flying here.
He had also promised to stay only for a few days till he got a visa to go to China to visit his wife and daughter.
Taking the stand earlier yesterday, the prosecution’s first witness, Dr Faisal Kassim of Changi General Hospital, said Ms Pohl had tenderness on the back of the neck and near her right eye.
He had also applied dressing to a skin break on her left hand and had noticed graze marks on the fingers that could have been caused by teeth or some sharp object.
Her injuries included bruises on an upper arm and knee and were consistent with those sustained in a scuffle, he added.
However, he could not recall Ms Pohl telling him how long she had been smothered.
Under cross-examination by Pilhion’s lawyer P. E. Ashokan, Dr Faisal said the “bite mark” could have been caused by Ms Pohl’s hand getting caught between Pilhion’s teeth when she tried to push him in the face.
The doctor also agreed that the lack of serious injuries to her back could have been due to little force being used when she was thrown onto the bed.
The trial continues today. If convicted, the accused could be jailed for up to three months and/or fined up to $1,500 for using criminal force.
For biting her and causing hurt, the punishment is a jail term of up to two years and/or a $5,000 fine.
For committing the rash bid of smothering her with a pillow, he could be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,500.
