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Man who placed knives, samurai sword on bed to scare wife jailed

According to court documents, Loh's wife had obtained a protection order against him on 16 January 2017.
Loh Beng Lea, 46, also used a sheathed knife to smack his 34-year-old Indonesian wife. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — When his wife refused to pick up the clothes that he had strewn about in a drunken tirade, the man placed a chopper, five knives and a sword on a bed to scare her.

Loh Beng Lea, 46, then used a sheathed knife to smack his 34-year-old Indonesian wife. At the State Courts on Thursday (11 April), the technician was jailed three weeks after pleading guilty to one count of breaching a protection order and one count of using criminal force on her.

Wife obtained protection order

According to court documents, Loh’s wife had obtained a protection order against him on 16 January 2017.

On 12 August that year, Loh returned home drunk and argued with his wife. He then threw his clothes and necklace around the house and demanded that his wife pick them up.

When she refused to do so, he gathered up chopper, five knives and a sword from around the house and placed them on a bed in his wife’s presence.

Loh then used a sheathed knife to hit the woman on her right arm. He also struck her back with his hands and challenged her to call the police.

Fearing for her own safety, the woman then hid in the toilet and called the police. Loh had also called the police before she did.

The woman only emerged from the toilet after police officers called out to her. Loh was arrested at the scene.

Accused was highly stressed: lawyer

Loh’s lawyer Wee Hong Shern told the court that his client had been highly stressed at the time of the offence.

He had sold his house and invested a large amount in his friend’s business. However, he lost a huge portion of the money after being cheated by his friend, said the lawyer.

Loh had also lost his job and had to support his two children, aged seven and five. Since then, Loh has undergone counselling and has not returned to drinking or caused any violence, said Wee.

District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Loh was going through a stressful time.

“However, this clearly does not excuse his action in putting his wife in great fear of harm by displaying these numerous deadly weapons on the bed, especially when he was in an intoxicated state and heaving in an angry manner,” he said.

“I have no doubt that his wife was put in great fear for her own safety resulting in her hiding in the toilet” added the judge.

For using criminal force, Loh could have been jailed up to three months, fined up to $1,500, or both. Breaching a personal protection order carries a jail term of up to six months along with a possible fine of up to $2,000 on a first conviction.

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