Cleaner stabbed pregnant wife who's former sex worker as he thought she was talking to pimp

A cleaner stabbed his wife's abdomen twice and slashed her in the back after seeing her talking to a man whom he assumed was a pimp.

The incident occurred along Lorong 16 Geylang on Dec 30, 2017.

Jayselan N Chandrasegar used a knife with a 10cm blade in the attack against Madam Mayuri Krishnakumar, who was pregnant. The unborn baby was not harmed.

Jayselan, 30, was sentenced to seven years in jail and six strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Dec 11).

According to The Straits Times, he pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt to the 27-year-old woman with a weapon, and one count of failing to provide his urine sample after he was caught for suspected drug-related offences.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Houston Johannus told the court the couple married in 2013. But their marriage soured in October last year due to frequent quarrels over money and their older child, who was then three years old.

When Madam Mayuri, who used to be a sex worker, told Jayselan that she was pregnant, he refused to believe that the child was his and accused her of infidelity.

Unable to tolerate his aggression and verbal abuse any more, she ran away from their home on Dec 24 last year and sought refuge with her former friends, who were mainly sex workers, in Lorong 16 Geylang. She also lived with them in their rented rooms, the court heard.

At around 11am on Dec 30, Madam Mayuri was buying breakfast in the area when she spotted an old friend, known only as Nanda, and started chatting with him.

Jayselan, who happened to be in the vicinity, became angry when he spotted the pair as he suspected that Nanda was a pimp. He confronted them and accused his wife of becoming a sex worker again. Nanda then walked away, the court heard.

Before Madam Mayuri could reply, Jayselan punched and kicked his wife, then attacked her with the knife.

He fled the scene after that and a passer-by alerted the police. Officers arrested him in Guillemard Road later that day.

His wife was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where she was found to have injuries including two small bowel perforations.

Pleading for a jail term of between five and five-and-a-half years, defence lawyer Gregory Fong said that Madam Mayuri has forgiven Jayselan and the couple remain married.

Read the full story on The Straits Times.