More than 2 years' jail for man who abducted wife and threatened to kill her
SINGAPORE – A man who threatened to kill his estranged wife after abducting and dousing her with petrol was on Wednesday (Sept 29) sentenced to jail for two years, two months and six weeks.
The offender, Murugan Nondoh, now 40, also threatened to kill himself.
Police officers arrested him at the Tuas Checkpoint and rescued his wife, Ms Krishnaveny Subramaniam, 40, at around 11pm on July 2, 2019.
The Malaysian couple were on their way back to Johor Baru at the time.
Murugan, who appeared in a Singapore district court via video link on Wednesday, pleaded guilty last week to multiple charges over offences that included abduction, criminal intimidation and assault.
In sentencing the offender, District Judge Kessler Soh noted that he had committed a “brazen act” by abducting his wife in public view.
The court heard that the couple were married in 2007 and lived in Johor Baru.
The marriage soured, and police learnt in their investigations that Murugan was physically abusive to his wife.
In March 2019, Murugan accused his wife of having an affair, which she denied.
Later that month, she moved into her mother’s home in Johor Baru and filed for divorce.
Murugan tried to reconcile with his wife but she refused to get back together with him.
In June that year, he found out from his sister that Ms Krishnaveny had managed to secure a job in Singapore.
He started turning up at her workplace in Woodlands soon after.
On July 2, 2019, Ms Krishnaveny was on her mobile phone with her niece in Malaysia while walking out of her workplace when Murugan rode towards her on his motorcycle from behind.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan said at an earlier hearing: “The accused used his arm to grab her neck from behind. The victim struggled to break free and shouted for help while crying… She also dropped her handphone.”
The call was not disconnected and Ms Krishnaveny’s niece heard the commotion between the couple. She then told her mother, who alerted the police in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Murugan grabbed and forced Ms Krishnaveny to go with him after emptying a bottle of petrol on her and threatening to set her on fire.
Over the next five hours, they rode around aimlessly before finally stopping at a cemetery in Old Choa Chu Kang Road.
Throughout the evening, he told his wife multiple times that he would burn her and kill himself afterwards.
But they talked and Murugan eventually agreed to take his wife back to Malaysia.
While at the Tuas Checkpoint, police moved in to rescue Ms Krishnaveny and arrest Murugan.
She was later found to have bruises and petroleum product ingestion at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
For abduction, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.
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