Man who abused pregnant wife, cop fined $3,500

A man who pulled his pregnant wife's hair during a quarrel outside a nightclub, then swore at a policeman who tried to calm him down, was fined $3,500 yesterday.

Six months earlier, Vinoth Tirunakkarasu, 32, had also sat on his 26-year-old wife's abdomen, dragged her across the floor of their home and threatened to injure her with a knife.

Vinoth pleaded guilty to three charges - causing hurt, behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place and using abusive words against a public servant. He admitted to another count of causing hurt and a charge of criminal intimidation, which were considered in sentencing.

Vinoth told the court that his wife had forgiven him and apologised to his wife and son in court.

His wife was seven months' pregnant when he pulled her hair outside Club Checkmate at Rendezvous Hotel, where they had been with friends, in the early hours of June 1 last year. He let go only when passers-by intervened.

When policemen arrived at about 2.20am, they saw him waving his hands aggressively and screaming. A staff sergeant asked him to cool down, but he repeatedly shouted obscenities at him.

In passing sentence, District Judge Salina Ishak said: "I hope you get help for your anger management issues. And I hope you keep to your promise not to do this again."

For voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for two years and fined $5,000. For behaving in a disorderly manner in public, he could have been jailed for six months and fined $2,000. For using abusive words against a public servant, he could have been jailed for a year and fined $5,000.

amirh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 2, 2016.
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