Ex-court interpreter who stabbed wife 24 times after being asked about other women jailed

SINGAPORE — Fed up with his wife’s questions about his relationships with other women, he broke a pail over her head and stabbed her 24 times all over her body.

Hamid Ibrahim, who was a court interpreter then, was sentenced to six months’ jail on Monday (2 March) after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to his 66-year-old wife with a kitchen knife.

Hamid, who had been an interpreter for 20 years, has four children with his wife. He is now self-employed and only earning a third of his usual income, his lawyer T M Sinnadurai told the court.

Hamid, 73, lost his temper at his wife on 23 November 2018 after she had repeatedly asked him about his text messages with other women.

On the day of the incident, at about 6am, the housewife checked her husband’s mobile phone while he was taking a shower. The victim believed that her husband had been talking to women he was romantically interested in.

About 45 minutes later, the man emerged from the washroom with a set of unwashed clothing in a blue pail which he was carrying to the washing machine at the kitchen. His wife approached him in the kitchen and began questioning him about the text messages she saw on his phone.

She demanded to know why he was chatting with other woman and accused him of being romantically involved with them. Her husband insisted that the women were “his customers”, according to the prosecution.

During their argument, Hamid became angry and hit her repeatedly on the head with the pail, which broke into three pieces.

He then took up a 16-cm blade knife which had been left in the kitchen sink and began stabbing his wife on her left forearm, arm, left buttock and back a total of 24 times. She did not retaliate.

After the act, Hamid dropped the knife back in the sink and called the police with his home line. The victim remained in the kitchen until the police arrived. She was brought to Sengkang General Hospital where she was found with 24 lacerations across her body.

Mitigating for Hamid, Sinnadurai told the court that Hamid is still with his wife. Hamid had sought counselling on his own accord to cope with his stress and he had diligently attended the sessions, said Sinnadurai.

A psychiatrist from Raffles Hospital said that Hamid’s behaviour was “out of character” and that the man was remorseful. His offences were due to a “moment of emotional aggression” said the lawyer.

For causing hurt with a weapon, Hamid could have been jailed up to seven years, or fined, or caned, or with any combination of the punishments.