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A Singaporean man was accused of holding his wife at knifepoint after suspecting she was prostituting herself.
The man, a 35-year-old former soldier, also faced charges for slapping his stepson, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
He pleaded guilty in court on Apr. 1 and will be sentenced at a later date.
All three parties cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identities of the victims.
Accused wife of prostitution
According to Shin Min Daily News, the man's accusations of his wife's alleged prostitution came about on Jan. 18, 2025, when he chanced upon an email indicating that his wife had met a stranger through Sugarbook, a platform used to arrange sugar daddy dates.
They had apparently arranged to meet at a hotel the following week.
The accused confronted his wife on the discovery, in the presence of their four children.
When she told him that she did not wish to involve their children in the dispute, the man then left the room to calm down, but later received a text from her that said: "If you can't bring money home, I will earn money my own way."
The man, once a Regular, had quit his job in 2024 to care for his children after his wife was unable to do so, the court noted.
His attempts to find employment after that had been unsuccessful.
Upon hearing his wife's words, he reportedly believed that she was working as a prostitute to earn money for the family.
When she re-emerged from the room for a smoke, he dragged her into the kitchen and held a knife to her neck, warning her not to anger him.
The violent confrontation was witnessed by one of the man's stepsons, who texted a friend and called his school counsellor for help.
The friend's aunt and the counsellor then called the police.
Slapped stepson
On another occasion on Oct. 26, 2022, the man slapped his 11-year-old stepson after receiving a complaint from the boy's school that he had been violent towards his younger brother.
The man was aware of prior instances where the pre-teen had scolded his younger siblings, including turning violent towards one of them, and had previously reprimanded him.
The day after the school's complaint, the man returned home to a messy living room filled with leftover food.
He woke his stepson up, scolded him for making a mess, then slapped his right cheek twice.
The act was discovered after the boy sported bruises on his face at school the next day.
The school counsellor and a social worker took him to a hospital for a medical examination, where reports showed that he had abrasions on the right cheek, bruises above his right ear, among other injuries.
The boy was hospitalised.
Upon his discharge, he was placed in a children's shelter and only allowed to return home on weekends.
Charges
The man faced four charges, including criminal intimidation.
He pleaded guilty to two of the charges, while the remaining charges are to be considered by the judge during sentencing.
In court, the accused's lawyer asked for leniency for his client, stating that his actions towards his wife were due to a feeling of betrayal.
However, the prosecution pointed out that the man had committed domestic violence by using a weapon against his wife in the presence of their children.
They further argued that the accused had abused the trust placed in him by his 11-year-old stepson, especially given that he was a vulnerable person due to his ADHD diagnosis.
In light of these, the prosecution sought 22 to 26 weeks' jail for the man.
