Mum on friend who was jailed for abducting baby: I will never forgive him
They had known each other for almost five years.
But the housewife wants nothing to do with him any more after he abducted her eight-month old son last year.
This sparked a frantic two-hour wait for news as the police searched for the pair before finding them.
On Wednesday, Shamsol Arifin Yusoff, 35, was jailed five months and fined $1,500 for one count of affray and one count of abduction.
On Oct 23 last year, Shamsol went to the woman's flat at about 10pm and abducted her son, court papers said.
The woman, who wanted to be known as Madam Mia, 31, told The New Paper: "I will never forgive him for abducting my child. He had put my son in danger. I'm relieved that he's now in jail."
Speaking in Malay near her three-room flat in western Singapore, she also denied that she was Shamsol's girlfriend.
She said Shamsol had taken a liking to her, but she rejected his advances.
"He's a married man. I'm a married woman and a mother of three. I've never had any romantic interest in him," Madam Mia said.
She got to know Shamsol through her husband, whom she married in 2011 and who is the boy's father. He is in jail for drug-related offences..
This is her second marriage. Her first, which ended in divorce, produced two daughters, aged seven and eight years old. Madam Mia said her first husband is also in jail for abusing drugs.
All three children live with her.
"In one of my prison visits, I told my husband that Shamsol had abducted our son. He was furious and told me that he wants to sever all ties with him," Madam Mia said.
Shamsol used to visit her about once a month to watch televison or just hang out, usually from 7pm until 11pm.
FOUL MOOD
Madam Mia said she was at home with her son at around 10pm on Oct 23 last year when Shamsol turned up in a foul mood.
He told her he had had a quarrel with some friends whom she did not know and wanted to attack them.
She said: "I scolded him. I told him,'don't create trouble here'. He was not pleased when I told him this and started scowling."
She had just completed her evening prayers at around 11pm when she saw him entering her son's bedroom.
He carried the little boy out of the room and she realised something was amiss when he left the flat with her son.
"I asked him where he was going and he said that my boy was his stepson.
"I don't know why he said that. I think he was not thinking straight," said Madam Mia.
When she tried to stop him, Shamsol shoved her aside and rushed off.
She said: "Seeing him in that state, I didn't want to aggravate him any further.
"He could have thrown my son to the floor or, worse, to the ground below.
"I was worried for my son's safety. I shouted for help. But I don't think anyone heard me."
Madam Mia said she chased after Shamsol down a flight of stairs to the ground floor.
But by the time she reached the foot of the stairs, Shamsol and her son were nowhere to be seen.
She called the police and endured an agonising wait for news about them.
She said: "I was extremely worried for my boy. I was crying and was afraid he would be harmed. I was praying that he would be found soon."
Two hours later, she finally got the call she had been waiting for.
She said: "I was so relieved when the police told me that they had found Shamsol and my son at around 1am. I cried tears of joy to be reunited with my boy."
Madam Mia said her son was found to have blue marks on his shoulders, back and thigh during a check-up at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
She said: "I think Shamsol gripped him too tightly while carrying him and left these marks.
"But the most important thing is my son is safe and I'm thankful for that."
Madam Mia said she is now more careful about the people she invites into her home.
She said: "I didn't expect Shamsol to take my son away. I've learnt my lesson."
"Seeing him in that state, I didn't want to aggravate him any further. He could have thrown my son to the floor or, worse, to the ground below."
- Madam Mia, explaining why she didn't stop him
Accused arrested a month earlier for fighting in coffee shop
Shamsol Arifin Yusoff PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
He was arrested and charged with fighting with another man at a Bukit Batok coffee shop in September last year.
A month later, while out on bail, he abducted an eight-month-old boy from Madam Mia, whom he claimed was his girlfriend. He said he wanted to move out from her flat and take his "stepson" with him.
On Wednesday, Shamsol Arifin Yusoff, 35, was jailed five months and fined $1,500 for one count of affray and one count of abduction.
Another charge of using criminal force against a public servant was taken into account during sentencing. Shamsol, who was then unemployed, committed the first offence at a coffee shop last Sept 12.
At about 8am, he got into an argument with a man sitting at his table.
A third man, Suhaimi Naib, 45, stepped in to stop the dispute, and then used his belt to hit Shamsol.
In retaliation, Shamsol picked up a chair, hit Suhaimi with it and threw the chair at him.
Shamsol then headed for Madam Mia's apartment. Suhaimi followed him.
There, Shamsol armed himself with a chopper and confronted Suhaimi, who retreated after picking up a bamboo pole nearby.
Both men were later arrested.
Shamsol was released on bail after he was charged in court on Sept 13.
On Oct 23, at about 10pm, Shamsol went to Madam Mia's apartment and sharpened a knife.
As he was doing so, he complained to her that he had just had a quarrel with his friends and that he wanted to kill people, particularly a person named Laras.
An hour later, he switched off the lights in the flat as Madam Mia was praying and packed his bag.
He told her that he wanted to move out, went into the room where her eight-month-old son was sleeping and carried him.
SOMETHING WRONG
She initially thought he was playing with her son. But she sensed something was wrong when he left the flat with the boy. She tried to stop him but he pushed her away.
She ran down the stairs, but could not find Shamsol and made a police report.
Shamsol was arrested near Bukit Panjang Plaza at about 1am.
The boy was found to have 10 blue marks on his shoulders, back and thigh.
On Tuesday, Shamsol said in mitigation he merely took the boy out to calm himself down and he could not have hurt him.
He said he told police where he was when they called his mobile phone.
District Judge Siva Shanmugam said in sentencing that Shamsol had caused the boy's mother much anxiety.
For abducting a person, Shamsol could have been jailed up to seven years, fined and caned.
For affray, he could have been jailed up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
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