'If I can't get you, then no one else can': Man jailed 8 months for punching pregnant girlfriend and toddler

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): An odd job labourer punched his girlfriend in the stomach three times while she was pregnant with his baby following a row with her teenage daughter.

The dispute also led to the 37-year-old man punching his own three-year-old daughter in the face and pulling her hair while the toddler was resting in bed.

The man, who cannot be named to protect his victims' identities, was sentenced to eight months' jail on Monday (March 25).

He pleaded guilty on Feb 25 to two counts of assault as well as one count each of wrongful confinement and ill-treating a child.

The court heard that he punched his 32-year-old girlfriend in the face on June 12, 2017, although court documents did not reveal the reasons behind this incident.

The woman's 16-year-old daughter visited her the next day and confronted the man when she saw that her mother was injured.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling said the teenager then told her mother to abort the baby, as the man was "unable to take care of her" and was "a violent man".

Enraged, he marched up to his pregnant girlfriend and punched her in the stomach three times.

After that, he scratched the teenager's wrist and pulled her hair.

The girl then asked him if he would like it if someone hit his biological child, at which point he went up to his own daughter, from a previous relationship, and punched her.

The DPP told District Judge May Mesenas that none of the three victims sought medical treatment after the incident.

Separately, the man had a dispute with his girlfriend at his home on March 12 last year, as he suspected her of cheating on him with her former boyfriend.

He told her that he was calling off the relationship, before locking the front gate to stop her from leaving.

He also damaged the woman's mobile phone to prevent her from calling the police.

After that, he used both his hands to choke her and said: "If I can't get you, then no one else can."

The man continued attacking her after she managed to free herself.

DPP Chee said he punched her face a few times, pulled her hair and kicked her chest. She lodged a police report four days later.

For each count of assault, the man could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000 (RM15,071).

For ill-treating the child, he could have been jailed for up to four years and fined up to $4,000 (RM12, 057).