A 29-year-old Indonesian woman, Rahimah Nisva, pleaded guilty to assaulting her 24-year-old husband and was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment on Tuesday (30 May).
She had scalded her husband with hot water because he wanted a divorce.
Context
The couple, Mr Muhammad Rahimi Shamir Ahmad Safuan and Rahimah got married in 2019 but experienced marital issues by December 2022 due to Rahimah’s possessiveness.
In January 2023, they welcomed a daughter, and two months later, Mr Rahimi travelled from Singapore to Batam to meet Rahimah and her mother to discuss a divorce.
During the meeting on March 19, Mr Rahimi raised the topic of divorce, to which Rahimah showed no apparent signs of unhappiness. The following day, Mr Rahimi returned to Singapore. However, Rahimah could not let go of the matter and devised a plan to confront her husband.
Wanted to confront husband
On March 22, Rahimah travelled from Batam to Singapore with a female colleague, claiming it was a leisure trip. Unaware of Rahimah’s intentions, her colleague accompanied her. While in Singapore, Rahimah informed her colleague about her intention to meet her husband and stopped at a hawker centre near Mr Rahimi’s residence on Balam Road, close to Circuit Road.
Rahimah instructed her friend to wait at the hawker centre while she proceeded to her husband’s home. To disguise herself, Rahimah changed into a black dress and covered her head with female Muslim headgear, leaving only her eyes visible. She familiarized herself with the surroundings near her husband’s residence before returning to the hawker centre.
Disguised herself and attacked her husband
The following day, before checking out of their hotel in Geylang, Rahimah filled a flask with hot water. She told her colleague that she wanted to meet her husband before heading back home. Rahimah then revisited Balam Road, wearing the same disguise as before, and positioned herself on a staircase landing near Mr Rahimi’s flat.
After waiting for about 10 minutes, she spotted Mr Rahimi leaving his unit. Seizing the opportunity, Rahimah sprinted towards him and poured the scalding water on his body, causing him immense pain and prompting him to scream in agony. Immediately after the attack, Rahimah fled the scene and later met up with her unsuspecting colleague. They boarded a ferry to Batam at 9:30 a.m., but their journey was cut short.
Ferry intercepted by police coast guard
The victim’s family had alerted the police, and the Police Coast Guard intercepted the ferry in Singapore’s territorial waters. Mr Rahimi received medical treatment at Singapore General Hospital for second-degree burns on his back. He was granted 16 days of medical leave and scheduled for follow-up appointments at an outpatient clinic.
During her court appearance, Rahimah, who did not have legal representation, expressed remorse and stated her desire to reconcile with her husband. It remains unclear from the court documents whether their divorce has been finalized.
Recap
The Singapore Police Force said that a 28-year-old woman who tried to flee from Singapore after allegedly attacking a man with hot water, was arrested.
She was arrested by the police onboard a ferry that she was on, while still within Singapore’s territorial waters.
The woman was caught on police surveillance cameras attacking a 24-year-old man near Balam Road on the morning of 23 March by scalding him with hot water.
Victim suffered 2nd-degree burns
The police were alerted to the attack at about 7.30 am but the woman had already fled the scene before the arrival of police officers.
The victim suffered second-degree burns on his neck and shoulders and was conveyed to the hospital conscious.
The thermos flask that was suspected to have been used in the hot water attack, was found by officers discarded near the scene.
Intercepted by Police Coast Guard
The Singapore Police said that the woman then tried to flee to Indonesia by boarding a ferry from the Singapore Cruise Centre but it was then intercepted by the Police Coast Guard before it left Singapore’s territorial waters.
Multiple agencies had tried to track the woman via a coordinated effort and she was arrested at about 11.30 am, on the same day of the attack.
Police officers established her identity after their investigations revealed that she knew the victim, even though her face was masked during the attack.
The woman also changed into a brown-coloured outfit when boarding the ferry, and the black dress that she wore while allegedly attacking the victim at Balam Road was also seized by the police.
