An Indian-origin married man was sentenced to 20 years of jail term on Monday for culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of his girlfriend in 2019.
M Krishnan punched and kicked his girlfriend, 40-year-old Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman over having relationships with other men, resulting in her death on January 17, 2019.
According to a report by TODAY newspaper, Krishnan pleaded guilty in the High Court last week. His sentence was backdated to the date of his arrest.
What Led To Krishnan Murdering His Girlfriend in 2017?
In November 2015, Krishnan’s wife caught him and his girlfriend, Mallika drinking alcohol in the master bedroom of their marital home.
A spat broke out between Krishnan and his wife during which he punched her in the face, before grabbing a whisky bottle. Afraid that he would hurl the bottle at her, his wife apologised and later, obtained a personal police protection order against him.
Meanwhile, Krishnan and Mallika continued their relationship up until she died in 2019.
According to court documents, during their time together, Krishnan hit Mallika at least once in 2017 “over a trivial matter”.
The abuse, however, increased in the beginning of 2019 after Mallika admitted to having sexual relations with several men, including when Krishnan was imprisoned in 2018, a TODAY report said.
On January 15, 2019, Mallika confessed to cheating on her while they were drinking alcohol in the apartment they shared, resulting in Krishnan kicking and slapping Mallika in the face, punching her in the ribs and kicking her in the thigh.
As she pleaded with him not to leave, Krishnan grabbed Mallika by the neck and pushed her, due to which she fell and hit her head against a wardrobe.
She got up, stumbled to the kitchen and slumped in front of a cabinet. Krishnan asked her to get up and when she did not, he pushed her forehead, causing her to hit her head against the cabin.
Mallika sought medical treatment at a hospital the next day with several bruises and abrasions.
Furious over her various affairs, Krishnan assaulted Mallika again that night. He slapped her face, grabbed her by her hair, punched and kicked her.
He kicked her repeatedly while she was on the ground, and helped her to the bed afterwards. Soon Krishnan realised that Mallika was not responsive or breathing.
He called the Singapore Civil Defence Force at about 1:35 am and later, Mallika was pronounced dead by the responders.
An autopsy report suggested that Mallika had succumbed to a head injury, with several bruises on her scalp, the back of her neck, face and around her body. Several of her ribs were fractured as well.
On January 17, 2019, Krishnan surrendered himself to police.
Following his arrest, Krishnan was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder, which is a condition where a person experiences frequent impulsive anger outbursts or aggression. The disorder was found to have contributed to his offence.
Justice Valerie Thean said that although Krishnan had promised he was a reformed individual in 2018 in his mitigation (for another offence of abusing police officers), he continued to abuse his wife and girlfriend.
Justice Thean also noted that although Krishnan’s intermittent explosive disorder contributed to his violent actions, alcohol also played a role in the way he acted.
Even though the accused was diagnosed with the disorder after the offence, “the accused knew he was susceptible to showing his temper in socially unacceptable ways” which reflected in his past brushes with the law, Justice Thean added.
Stressing that she could not overlook his repeated domestic abuse against the women, the judge sentenced Krishnan to 20 years in jail.
For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment and caning, or a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine or caning.
(With PTI inputs)
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