NUS dentistry student who strangled ex-girlfriend suspended, barred from campus
SINGAPORE — A second-year dentistry student from the National University of Singapore (NUS) who was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend has been barred from campus, the university said on Monday (20 July).
He is also currently suspended from his course, pending ongoing disciplinary proceedings.
Yin Zi Qin was sentenced on 17 July to a short detention order of 12 days, a day reporting order of five months with counselling and an order to serve 80 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to his ex-girlfriend. One count of criminal trespass was taken into consideration for his sentencing.
This means Yin will not have a criminal record.
Yin, 23, had strangled the 21-year-old woman before pressing down on her eye with his thumb, drawing blood. The woman fainted and later suffered from an eye infection for five months.
In a statement on its Facebook page, NUS said that it stood strongly against “any form of misconduct”.
The university added that students who breached the NUS Statutes and Regulations face severe sanctions, including suspension and expulsion.
It was earlier reported that the victim, also an undergraduate, feared bumping into Yin at school. She also suffers from insomnia and nightmares of Yin breaking into her house.
Tried for reconciliation
The victim had been in a relationship with Yin for two years before initiating a breakup that led to the assault incident.
On 9 May last year, the victim broke off her relationship with Yin over WhatsApp. That night, Yin entered her house with an access card she had earlier given him, without her knowledge.
The woman, then out with her friends, rushed home to meet him.
The pair met at the basement of her house before climbing into her bedroom via a window from an adjacent showroom unit. The woman’s family members were unaware of their presence.
At the room, Yin gave the victim roses, begged for her forgiveness and pleaded with her not to end the relationship. When the victim declined his request, Yin banged his head against the wall and remained silent for a while.
As they resumed talking, Yin began strangling the woman’s neck. She screamed and struggled, causing Yin to release her but press his thumb against her left eye. Her eye bled from the incident.
The woman lost consciousness momentarily and found herself on the floor when she woke up. Yin apologised to her and the woman told him to leave. Yin then climbed out of her bedroom into the showroom unit.
Meanwhile, the woman’s mother heard the commotion and approached her daughter to ask what happened. Hearing the exchange, Yin returned to the bedroom to seek forgiveness from the woman’s parents.
However, he encountered the woman’s stepfather, who pinned him to the ground. Yin asked him to call for an ambulance as the woman was injured, while the mother called the police.
The victim experienced blurry vision and pain in her eye. She also suffered abrasions on her neck, and swelling and a conjunctival infection to her eye.
In his sentencing remarks, District Judge Marvin Bay said that while Yin was not suitable for probation, his “relative youth”, rehabilitative prospects and lack of criminal history made community-based sentences a viable option.
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