Attempted murder trial: Giselle Shi's defence lawyer says stabs were 'unintentional'

[UPDATE on Friday, 26 September at 11:30am: Adding testimony from Thursday session]

The near-fatal stab wounds suffered by 22-year-old Ummul Qurratu 'Ain were "unintentional", sustained in a scuffle while ex-girlfriend Giselle Shi was trying to kill herself.

This was the defence put forward by 25-year-old Shi's lawyer, who cross-examined the prosecution's star witness and victim in the ongoing alleged murder case at the High Court on Thursday.

Giselle Shi Jia Wei is accused of attempted murder after stabbing Ummul Qurratu ‘Ain binte Abdul Rahman twice in the chest in a hotel room in Geylang on 22 July 2012, with one wound piercing the wall of Ummul's heart. Shi later turned the knife on herself, slitting her wrists and stabbing herself once in the chest.

One charge against Shi for attempted suicide has been stood down upon, according to opening statements read in court on Tuesday by state prosecutors.

The New Paper reported on Friday that defence counsel Jayakumar Naidu said there would be "opportunity for the accused (Shi) to cause you further harm" if Ummul's previous account of having passed out after being stabbed twice was true.

In response, Ummul reportedly said Shi probably thought she was already dead, or wanted to let her die slowly from the loss of blood she was suffering from the two stabs.

Instead, reported the paper, Naidu argued that while both were naked in bed and watching television, Shi straddled Ummul's left thigh and threatened to kill herself with the knife she had brought.

When Ummul didn't listen, she turned the knife on herself, and during the struggle that ensued, Ummul got stabbed once. The victim managed to pull out the knife, they tumbled to the floor and Ummul was stabbed again, after which she pulled it out again and threw it under the bed.

Ummul reportedly said she disagreed with the scenario the lawyer painted.

Naked and covered in blood

Meanwhile, more disturbing details emerged from what transpired after Ummul escaped when the two hotel guests who helped her to safety took the stand on Thursday.

According to Channel NewsAsia, the married couple, Mohamed Firdaus Kamsani and Farizah Abdul Aziz, was waiting for the lift at the lobby on the eighth floor of the Golden Star Hotel when a naked and bleeding Ummul staggered toward them.

Testifying on Thursday, Farizah reportedly said Ummul seemed weak and was covered in blood, and used her hands to cover her chest and private parts.

"She told me someone had tried to kill her," she said in court, adding that Ummul repeatedly told the couple to call the police. Firdaus then did so in the lobby downstairs, while Ummul was helped to a sofa, saying it was difficult to breathe. Farizah said she kept talking to her to keep her awake as well.

Tumultuous relationship

At the time of the incident, Shi was 23 and Ummul was 20, and the prosecution’s case is that Shi dumped Ummul after a tempestuous relationship and sought to get back together later on, but the latter did not want to get back together and Shi could not accept that.
 
The two girls got to know each other in 2010 and got together sometime after July 2011, with Ummul moving in to Shi’s parents’ house for a number of months. Reports in local media say Ummul mostly confined herself to Shi’s room, but Shi’s mother eventually discovered her presence in May 2012 and asked her to leave.
 
On the witness stand earlier this week, Ummul, according to Today, said Shi was “possessive, calculative and insecure”, restricting her career options and asking her to terminate her Facebook account.
 
According to the paper, Ummul testified that they would have arguments over the use of toiletries, financial issues and the smallest of things.
 
Shi and Ummul then reportedly moved to Johor Bahru for about a month before returning to Singapore, where on 14 July, Today reported that Shi lost her temper inside a toilet cubicle at Mink club after Ummul spilled her drink onto Shi’s heels when a male friend hugged her. Shi then said she wanted to end the relationship and left in a taxi, the report added.
 
A week later, prosecutors said Shi bought a knife with a 10cm blade on the evening of 21 July. She then asked to meet Ummul and the latter agreed, thinking Shi was seeking “some form of closure”. After having supper together, though, they checked into and spent the night together in room 801 of the Golden Star Hotel in Geylang.
 
The next day, Shi kept asking Ummul if there was any possibility of them starting afresh, but Ummul said she did not want to continue their relationship because of their frequent fights and disagreements. Prosecutors contended that, in response, Shi said that she and Ummul “would be together in life or death” then stabbed the victim in the chest twice in the struggle that ensued.
 
Ummul eventually managed to escape from the room and seek help from two other guests on the same floor at the hotel. They then activated emergency services, which sent her to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment.
 
The prosecution also said that one of the stabs in Ummul’s chest punctured the wall of her heart, a wound that would have resulted in her death, according to medical professionals whom prosecutors will call to testify on the case.
 
The trial continues.