SINGAPORE: A man who abducted his wife and doused her with petrol was sentenced to two years, two months and six weeks’ jail on Wednesday (Sep 29), according to a report by TODAY .
The incident, which took place two years ago, saw Murugan Nondoh threaten to burn and kill his wife as he suspected she was having an affair.
As Murugan's sentence was backdated to his date of remand on Jul 4, 2019, he will be released immediately, said TODAY.
The 39-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty last week to four charges of abduction, criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt and having an offensive weapon on him.
The court heard that Murugan was jobless and lived in Johor Bahru at the time of the offences.
His wife, Ms Krishnaveny Subramaniam, worked as a quality controller in Woodlands, reported TODAY.
The couple married in 2007 in Malaysia, but the victim grew unhappy in the union as Murugan had a bad temper, gambling debts and was physically abusive.
Murugan and the 40-year-old Malaysian woman are currently separated and undergoing divorce proceedings.
In February 2019, Ms Krishnaveny confided in her friend, saying she was lonely. Her friend in turn gave her a man's phone number, and the victim began chatting with him but did not meet him in person.
About a week after she had begun chatting with the man, Murugan checked his wife's phone and saw a text message from him, wishing her good morning.
Suspecting his wife was having an affair, Murugan confronted her, but she denied it as she had never met the man in person.
Later that month, the victim moved to stay with her mother in Johor Bahru. She also filed for divorce and blocked Murugan's number.
Murugan used different phone numbers to contact his wife, and also visited his mother-in-law's house a few times.
In June 2019, Murugan learnt that his wife had begun working in Singapore. He proceeded to wait at the Malaysian checkpoint for four hours on five to six days until he finally saw her on Jun 25.
Ms Krishnaveny told him not to come near her before trying to run, but Murugan grabbed her bag and found her work permit with the address of her workplace.
He took a photo of it before his wife retrieved her bag from him with help from police officers.
Two days later, Murugan sent voice messages to a friend saying that women like his wife "should not be alive at all" and that he would "confirm burn her 100 per cent".
In subsequent messages, Murugan told his friend he was "not going to let anyone have (the victim since) he cannot have her", and said he planned to find the victim in Singapore and kill her and himself.
Murugan also added that he intended to kill the victim's boyfriend if he caught him.
He told his friend that there was "no way but to kill (the victim)" and said this matter "should come out on newspapers" so that other women would fear being with "other women's husband" and everyone would think Murugan is "a real man".
In the early hours of Jul 1, 2019, Murugan rode his motorcycle to Singapore where he filled an empty bottle with 2.34 litres of petrol at a petrol station.
The next day, Murugan went to his wife's workplace and saw her walking out at about 6pm.
Ms Krishnaveny was on the phone with her niece, telling her that Murugan had discovered where she worked and that she feared being harassed the minute she stepped out of her office building.
Murugan rode towards his wife from behind and used his arm to grab her neck. In her struggle to break free, the victim dropped her phone and spectacles and shouted for help while trying to run away.
Murugan gave chase and pulled Ms Krishnaveny towards him before pouring the entire bottle of petrol on her head.
He threatened to burn and kill her if she did not leave with him on the motorcycle.
Fearing for her safety and knowing that her husband carried lighters with him, the victim complied. Murugan picked up her spectacles and phone from the floor before riding off with her.
The victim felt unwell and had difficulty breathing as she had swallowed some petrol while shouting for help, and felt burning sensations in her throat and stomach and over her body.
During the ride, Murugan hit the victim's helmeted head with his own helmet, before punching her face and chest.
He also pointed a penknife at her and demanded that she unlock her phone, but his wife refused to.
Ms Krishnaveny's niece, who was still on the phone call, had heard everything. She informed her brother and friend and they recorded the exchange.
Murugan rode around with his wife for five hours, stopping at various places including a cemetery.
At their first stop, Murugan placed his wife's spectacles back on her and showed her the sari and dhoti they had worn at their wedding 12 years ago.
Ms Krishnaveny thought that he wanted them both to put on their wedding outfits before he set them on fire, as she had seen similar scenes of suicide in movies.
Murugan subsequently agreed to take his wife back to Malaysia after she promised to reconcile with him.
They arrived at Tuas Checkpoint at about 11pm that day but failed to scan their passports and thumbprints. Police officers arrived shortly after, arresting Murugan and rescuing Ms Krishnaveny.
She was taken to the emergency department of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, according to TODAY.
Her face and chest were bruised and she was diagnosed with "petroleum product ingestion", said the report.
For his most serious offence of abduction, Murugan could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or gotten any combination of the three.
Continue reading...
The incident, which took place two years ago, saw Murugan Nondoh threaten to burn and kill his wife as he suspected she was having an affair.
As Murugan's sentence was backdated to his date of remand on Jul 4, 2019, he will be released immediately, said TODAY.
The 39-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty last week to four charges of abduction, criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt and having an offensive weapon on him.
WHAT HAPPENED
The court heard that Murugan was jobless and lived in Johor Bahru at the time of the offences.
His wife, Ms Krishnaveny Subramaniam, worked as a quality controller in Woodlands, reported TODAY.
The couple married in 2007 in Malaysia, but the victim grew unhappy in the union as Murugan had a bad temper, gambling debts and was physically abusive.
Murugan and the 40-year-old Malaysian woman are currently separated and undergoing divorce proceedings.
In February 2019, Ms Krishnaveny confided in her friend, saying she was lonely. Her friend in turn gave her a man's phone number, and the victim began chatting with him but did not meet him in person.
About a week after she had begun chatting with the man, Murugan checked his wife's phone and saw a text message from him, wishing her good morning.
Suspecting his wife was having an affair, Murugan confronted her, but she denied it as she had never met the man in person.
Later that month, the victim moved to stay with her mother in Johor Bahru. She also filed for divorce and blocked Murugan's number.
Murugan used different phone numbers to contact his wife, and also visited his mother-in-law's house a few times.
"CONFIRM BURN HER"
In June 2019, Murugan learnt that his wife had begun working in Singapore. He proceeded to wait at the Malaysian checkpoint for four hours on five to six days until he finally saw her on Jun 25.
Ms Krishnaveny told him not to come near her before trying to run, but Murugan grabbed her bag and found her work permit with the address of her workplace.
He took a photo of it before his wife retrieved her bag from him with help from police officers.
Two days later, Murugan sent voice messages to a friend saying that women like his wife "should not be alive at all" and that he would "confirm burn her 100 per cent".
In subsequent messages, Murugan told his friend he was "not going to let anyone have (the victim since) he cannot have her", and said he planned to find the victim in Singapore and kill her and himself.
Murugan also added that he intended to kill the victim's boyfriend if he caught him.
He told his friend that there was "no way but to kill (the victim)" and said this matter "should come out on newspapers" so that other women would fear being with "other women's husband" and everyone would think Murugan is "a real man".
In the early hours of Jul 1, 2019, Murugan rode his motorcycle to Singapore where he filled an empty bottle with 2.34 litres of petrol at a petrol station.
The next day, Murugan went to his wife's workplace and saw her walking out at about 6pm.
Ms Krishnaveny was on the phone with her niece, telling her that Murugan had discovered where she worked and that she feared being harassed the minute she stepped out of her office building.
Murugan rode towards his wife from behind and used his arm to grab her neck. In her struggle to break free, the victim dropped her phone and spectacles and shouted for help while trying to run away.
Murugan gave chase and pulled Ms Krishnaveny towards him before pouring the entire bottle of petrol on her head.
He threatened to burn and kill her if she did not leave with him on the motorcycle.
Fearing for her safety and knowing that her husband carried lighters with him, the victim complied. Murugan picked up her spectacles and phone from the floor before riding off with her.
The victim felt unwell and had difficulty breathing as she had swallowed some petrol while shouting for help, and felt burning sensations in her throat and stomach and over her body.
During the ride, Murugan hit the victim's helmeted head with his own helmet, before punching her face and chest.
He also pointed a penknife at her and demanded that she unlock her phone, but his wife refused to.
Ms Krishnaveny's niece, who was still on the phone call, had heard everything. She informed her brother and friend and they recorded the exchange.
VICTIM SUSTAINED BRUISES, INGESTED PETROL
Murugan rode around with his wife for five hours, stopping at various places including a cemetery.
At their first stop, Murugan placed his wife's spectacles back on her and showed her the sari and dhoti they had worn at their wedding 12 years ago.
Ms Krishnaveny thought that he wanted them both to put on their wedding outfits before he set them on fire, as she had seen similar scenes of suicide in movies.
Murugan subsequently agreed to take his wife back to Malaysia after she promised to reconcile with him.
They arrived at Tuas Checkpoint at about 11pm that day but failed to scan their passports and thumbprints. Police officers arrived shortly after, arresting Murugan and rescuing Ms Krishnaveny.
She was taken to the emergency department of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, according to TODAY.
Her face and chest were bruised and she was diagnosed with "petroleum product ingestion", said the report.
For his most serious offence of abduction, Murugan could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or gotten any combination of the three.
Continue reading...