Woman threatens to accuse husband of rape, kill him in his sleep

SINGAPORE — In the heat of an argument over parenting styles, a woman threatened her husband that she would tell the police he had raped her, and told their teenage son she was going to kill his father in his sleep.

Jessinta Tan Suat Lin, 50, also hit a female neighbour with a mop until its aluminium handle broke into three because the latter did not stop skipping rope in a common area after Tan asked her to.

On Jan 2, Tan pleaded guilty to three charges — one each for committing a rash act, voluntarily causing hurt and harassment.

Two other charges — for harassment and another rash act — will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The housewife is a former journalist who previously worked with news platforms including Today.

On the evening of Feb 16, 2024, Tan was at home at Westmont condominium in West Coast Road when her neighbour began exercising with a skipping rope at the common area near the swimming pool.

Frustrated because her son wanted to rest, Tan approached her neighbour and asked her to stop exercising, but she refused.

Tan then hurled profanities and threw five or six eggs at the woman from a window at around 9.50pm.

About 10 minutes later, Tan attacked the woman with a mop.

She bit her neighbour's arm and hit her on the head with the mop's aluminium handle until it broke into three pieces.

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She also threw a bag of rubbish and an incense bin at the woman but missed.

The victim called the police and went to a hospital, where she was found to have suffered injuries to her head and arms. She later moved out of the condo because of the incident.

Tan was arrested and bailed out by her husband.

About two months later, an argument over their parenting styles escalated into Tan telling their teenage son within earshot of her husband that she would kill his father in his sleep.

At around 8.45pm on April 28, 2024, she used her mobile phone to send her husband a text message using vulgar language and claiming: "I'll jump bail next month."

Less than an hour later, at around 9.35pm, she told their son: "I will just kill him one day. He might just die one day in his sleep. One day, when I am really mad, he will die in his sleep. He better lock his door when he sleeps at night."

Later that night, she threatened her husband, telling him she would tell the police he raped her.

He then made a police report against Tan for the threats.

On Jan 2, Tan's lawyer, Ramachandran Shiever Subramaniam, said that Tan was a loving mother who had a strained relationship with her husband.

He asked the court for leniency, saying Tan suffers from anxiety and depression, and regrets her actions but makes no excuses for them.

There were no further comments in court regarding the rape allegations.

District Judge Crystal Goh called for a report to determine Tan's suitability for a mandatory treatment order, which is a type of sentence that mandates psychiatric treatment for offenders with mental health conditions.

The case has been adjourned for sentencing on Feb 11, and Tan is currently out on $10,000 bail.

For voluntarily causing hurt, she can be jailed for up to three years and fined $5,000.

For a rash act, she can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,500.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.