Woman on trial for 'stabbing' ex-lover

Woman on trial for 'stabbing' ex-lover

SINGAPORE - A tumultuous romantic relationship between two young women ended with one of them stabbing the other in a hotel room, the High Court heard yesterday as a 25-year-old woman went on trial for the attempted murder of her former lover, two years her junior.

Giselle Shi Jia Wei is accused of stabbing Ummul Qurratu' Ain Abdul Rahman twice in the chest before turning the knife on herself in the room of a hotel in Geylang on July 22, 2012.

The prosecution's case is that Shi broke up with Ms Qurratu' Ain but later tried to get back with her; when the latter was not willing to do so, Shi could not accept it and decided to murder her and then kill herself.

One of the stabs fractured the alleged victim's breastbone and punctured the wall of her heart.

Shi faces a life term or up to 20 years' jail if she is convicted of attempted murder. A second charge of attempted suicide has been stood down for now.

The bespectacled, long-haired woman looked frequently at her former lover as Ms Qurratu' Ain, 22, a freelance musician, testified about their stormy relationship and the stabbing.

They met in 2010 and started a steady relationship in July 2011.

The alleged victim, who had short hair and wore a black jacket and slim-fit pants, told the court that they fought over the simplest things: financial matters, jealousy and "things I say wrong".

She lived in Shi's family home for nearly half a year, but was mostly confined to Shi's room as they did not want Shi's parents to know she was there. In May 2012, Shi's mother discovered her presence and told her to leave.

The couple then stayed in Johor Baru for about a month before returning to Singapore.

On July 14, 2012, they had a row at the upscale nightspot, Mink, after which Shi said she wanted to end the relationship. The stabbing incident happened about a week later at the hotel after Ms Qurratu' Ain rejected Shi's pleas to get back together.

selinal@sph.com.sg


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