Man gets jail, cane for bashing lover in mall

A storekeeper punched his former lover repeatedly in broad daylight in a shopping mall, while onlookers pleaded with him to stop.

But Malaysian Karunagaran Ratnam, 49, continued pummelling her, knocking out two of her teeth, until she passed out.

Yesterday, Karunagaran was sentenced to 16 months' jail and three strokes of the cane for grievously hurting cleaner Kalaivani Sakaran, 37, also a Malaysian.

The assault occurred at Square 2 in Sinaran Drive, in Novena, on Sept 14 last year.

The victim was estranged from Karunagaran and had been avoiding him for a long time. But that afternoon, he managed to track her down at her workplace.

The court heard the couple had been in a relationship for 22 years but were not married. Between them, they have four children.

When the victim saw Karunagaran, she tried to run but he caught her and punched her in the face and chest repeatedly. He continued his assault despite attempts by onlookers to get him to stop.

She fell to the floor, but he dragged her up and continued punching her.

A member of the public eventually separated him from the victim before the police arrived.

The victim suffered multiple cuts and fractures on her face, and was given hospitalisation leave for about a week.

Karunagaran could have been jailed for up to 10 years.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on July 14, 2015.
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