Singapore:

A married Indian-origin man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, which was not the equivalent of killing his girlfriend for having affairs with other men.

Upset over her relationships with other men, M Krishnan punched and kicked Mallika Begum Rahmansa Abdul Rahman (40), who died on January 17, 2019.

“Today” newspaper reported on Monday that Krishnan (40) pleaded guilty in the High Court last week.

His conviction was prior to the date of his arrest.

Justice Valerie Thean noted that Krishnan had promised to reform in 2018 (for another offense of abusing police officers), but continued to abuse his wife and girlfriend.

He also noted during sentencing that although Krishnan’s intermittent explosive disorder may have contributed to his violent actions, alcohol also affected the way he acted.

Justice Thien added that even though he had been diagnosed with the disorder after the crime, “the defendant knew he was susceptible to showing his anger in socially unacceptable ways through his previous brushes with the law”.

Saying she could not ignore his repeated domestic abuse against women, the judge sentenced Krishnan to 20 years in prison.

For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment and caning, or imprisonment for up to 20 years and fine or caning.

In November 2015, Krishnan’s wife caught him and his girlfriend drinking in the master bedroom of their matrimonial home.

Distraught, she hurled obscenities at Krishnan and then punched him in the face before grabbing a whiskey bottle.

Fearing that he would throw the bottle at her, the wife apologized and later, obtained a personal police protection order against him.

Krishnan and Mallika continued all this till their death.

During their time together, Krishnan hit Mallika at least once in 2017 “over a trivial matter,” court documents said.

According to Today’s report, the abuse escalated after Mallika admitted to having sex with several men in early 2019, including Krishnan, who was in jail in 2018.

On January 15, 2019, Krishnan kicked and slapped Mallika in the face, punched her in the ribs and kicked her in the thigh.

This happened after he confessed to cheating while they were drinking in the apartment.

As she begged him not to leave, he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head on a cupboard.

She got up, stumbled to the kitchen and crouched in front of a cupboard. He told her to get up and when she didn’t, he shoved her in the forehead, causing her to hit her head against the cabin.

The next day, Mallika sought medical treatment at a hospital and was found with multiple cuts and bruises.

While Mallika was in the hospital, Krishnan drank alcohol throughout the day.

At night, they spoke to Mallika’s sister on the phone about Mallika’s relationship with another person.

Feeling angry and frustrated by their various affairs, Krishnan attacks Mallika again.

He slapped her across the face, grabbed her by the hair, and punched and kicked her.

After repeatedly kicking her while she was on the ground, he helped her to the bed and realized she was unresponsive or not breathing.

She then called the Singapore Civil Defense Force at around 1:35 a.m. and Mallika was later declared dead by the responders.

An autopsy found she died of blunt force trauma to the head, multiple injuries to her skull, the back of her neck, face and around her body.

Several of his ribs were also broken.

During the sentencing on Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Timothy Koh told the court that Krishnan had asked a friend to sleep over at his apartment after the attack.

On the afternoon of January 17, 2019, Krishnan surrendered himself to the police.

After his arrest, Krishnan was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder — a condition where anger often results in outbursts or attacks — which contributed to his crime.

However, the level of violence he inflicted on his girlfriend was “probably fueled by alcohol intoxication, which led to intermittent explosive outbursts”, court documents showed.

The prosecution, seeking a sentence of 15 to 18 years, urged the court to “send a clear message that courts do not tolerate this type of violence”.

Koh said that although Krishnan was diagnosed with a mental disorder after the crime, he had a history of “socially unacceptable behaviour” that included violence while intoxicated.

This included Krishnan’s reduced appeal in 2018 for verbally abusing and spitting at police officers, where he admitted that alcohol “badly affected my judgment at the time”.

He also said that Krishnan had been referred for domestic violence counseling from 2015 to 2016, and that his actions reflected “his propensity to abuse his domestic partners”.

Koh added: “No less weight should be placed on any emotions that the accused may have been feeling following the deceased’s confession about her relationships with other men.

“The accused is not in a position to punish the deceased for his alleged infidelity.” During the relief, Krishnan’s counsel said that his client pleaded guilty soon, surrendered to the police and fully cooperated during the investigation.

Krishnan was controlling his alcohol intake – drinking only on weekends when he was not working – he added.

However, it was Mallika’s relationships with other men that “influenced her decision”.

“He thought alcohol would help him cope with his emotions,” the lawyer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)