Man who stabbed and killed estranged wife jailed 10 years
A man who stabbed his wife multiple times and caused her death was jailed 10 years on Thursday (12 July).
Mohamad Jonit Adnan, 38, pleaded guilty in the High Court to one charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhuo Wenzhao told the court that Jonit had a rocky relationship with his 29-year-old wife, Sri Idayu Ghazali.
They married in 2007 and had two daughters. However, the relationship was strained as Jonit did not have a stable job and he had an affair with another woman with whom he had a son.
Sri applied for divorce in March 2016 and applied for a personal protection order against Jonit in July. Jonit then moved out of their HDB flat in Yishun Ring Road. Sri’s parents, sister, and a domestic helper moved in.
On the evening of 13 August 2016, Jonit brought his daughters down to a playground near the flat and found out that Sri had stayed out late the night before. He suspected Sri was seeing someone else.
At about 8.15pm, he brought the children back to the flat. Sri was sleeping in the master bedroom at the time. Jonit went to the kitchen and took a knife with a 11cm blade, hiding it in his backpocket.
Jonit entered the master bedroom when Sri’s sister and elder daughter stepped out of the house to go to a shop downstairs. Sri was using her handphone while on the bed when Jonit asked her if she had gone out the night before. She used an expletive and said it was not his concern.
Jonit then pulled out the knife and stabbed her multiple times. Sri shouted out in pain, which drew the attention of their younger daughter outside.
When the 10-year-old daughter rushed into the room, she saw Jonit stabbing Sri. Jonit stopped his attack when he saw his daughter. He headed to the kitchen, threw the knife out of the window, and left the flat.
Their daughter ran down to the shop downstairs to get her aunt and elder sister. The trio rushed back to the flat and found Sri covered in blood.
Jonit was still in the vicinity and surrendered to the police officers who came down to investigate. Sri, who was in a semi-conscious state, told an officer, “My husband stabbed me,” She was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat hospital.
Sri sustained 30 stab wounds, eight of which, whether individually or collectively, were sufficient to cause death, said DPP Zhuo. She died a few hours later at about 4.30am, due to extensive haemorrhage from stab wounds to her neck, shoulder, chest, and abdomen, he added.
DPP Zhuo asked for 10 years’ jail while Jonit’s lawyer, Sadhana Rai, asked for five to seven years. Citing psychiatric reports, Sadhana said Jonit was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, which “significantly impaired” his ability to control his actions.
In one such report, a psychiatrist assessed Jonit several months after his wife filed for a divorce. The report noted that Jonit had hidden his “suicide notes” in his adoptive mother’s home, hoping that his family would find them and give him support. He refrained for committing suicide because of his daughters and religious belief, according to the report.
But DPP Zhou said although the report noted Jonit’s depressive state, he was aware of his actions and that they were wrong.
