By Chong Shin Yen

HE asked his wife for sex.

She said 'No'.

He then flew into a violent rage, grabbed a chopper from the kitchen and threatened to kill her.

Panicking, the woman and their two teenage children locked themselves in the bedroom.

But the 45-year-old pork stall helper wasn't finished.

He went to the kitchen and grabbed a mallet, which he then used to smash the glass panel above the door.

The broken glass fell on their daughter and cut her. She had been pushing herself against the door to prevent him from barging in.

Hell-bent on forcing them out, he then did something else: He set some newspapers on fire and stuffed them under the door of the room.

The drama ended only when the police arrived and arrested him.

On 4 Jul, he was jailed 18 months after he pleaded guilty to four charges of criminal intimidation, committing a rash act, voluntarily causing hurt and causing hurt through a rash act.

We are not naming him because the couple's daughter, who is a minor, was involved in the court proceedings and cannot be identified under the law.

The court heard that the man's wife and children had returned to their three-room flat in the east at 9.30pm on 30 Mar.

At the time, the man was drinking at home.

When he saw them, he began mumbling under his breath.

The trio ignored him and went about their work.

Then, he went up to his wife and asked her for sex.

The housewife, 47, was busy with housework and turned him down.

He scolded her and flew into a rage.

The chopper he had used to try and hack down the door had a 20cm-long blade.

When he was hacking away at the door, he also shouted to his wife: 'If you don't open the door, I will kill you.'

The wife said she was so terrified that she and her daughter, 15, and son, 14, didn't dare to make any noise.

The three of them managed to put out the burning newspapers when he started to stuff them under the door.

That's when the son called the police for help.

The daughter, who suffered a cut and abrasions on the back of her head, was taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH) and given outpatient treatment.

PREVIOUS INCIDENT

It's not the first time that the man has behaved violently.

The court heard that on 15Mar, two weeks before the incident, he hit his wife on her head with a metal mug.

She was doing housework at about 3.45pm when she suggested that the family go out for a walk.

He was drinking beer at the time and so he objected.

When she continued with the household chores, he suddenly picked up the metal mug he had been drinking from and hit her.

He later went to the toilet and she took that chance to slip out of the flat.

She then called her younger sister, 45, who in turn, called the police.

She had a 2cm cut on her head and received outpatient treatment at CGH.

ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

In his mitigation, the man's lawyer said that he suffers from alcohol dependence and regretted his actions.

The lawyer added that the man loves his wife and children and had asked them for their forgiveness.

He will undergo counselling and treatment for alcohol dependence during his jail term.

When The New Paper approached his wife at their flat, she declined to be interviewed.

But she said that it was an 'embarrassing and unfortunate' incident.

She added that her husband was the sole breadwinner and earned about $1,400 a month.

She is now renting out a room, and the family depends on the $500 rental for their expenses. She has also been visiting her husband regularly.

The wife had told Shin Min Daily News that for the past 10years, her husband would drink at least four bottles of beer every day.

She said: 'He would become a different man and would flare up easily when he got drunk.

'Every night, I would leave the house before his outbursts and return a few hours later, after he had sobered up.'

TOOK CARE OF FAMILY

She added that although her husband is an alcoholic, took good care of the family.

For criminal intimidation, he could have been jailed seven years and fined.

For committing a rash act and endangering lives, he could have been jailed six months and fined $2,500.

For causing hurt through a rash act and endangering lives, he could have been jailed a year and fined $5,000.

For voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed a year and fined $1,000.

This story was first published in The New Paper on July 15, 2008.