Judge jails 'fiendish' man for attacking pregnant girlfriend
Judge also calls accused 'despicable' in jailing him for two assault cases
Fiendish, disgusting, despicable, deplorable and obnoxious - this was how a judge described a man who beat up his pregnant girlfriend and a motorist in separate incidents.
District Judge Mathew Joseph also ticked off Mohamed Mustaffa Ali, 24, for his penchant for violence and having no control over his rage.
The judge sentenced the courier to 10 weeks' jail yesterday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault.
One was for a road rage case last year and the other for hurting his pregnant girlfriend in 2017.
The earlier incident occurred in his cousin's flat in the early hours of June 11, 2017, after Mustaffa quarrelled with Ms Shahiqah Nadiyeh Mohammad Herman, then 21, over her former boyfriend.
The agitated Mustaffa slapped her face three times and kicked her thigh twice, despite knowing she was four months pregnant with his child.
When his cousin told them to leave his flat, Ms Shahiqah refused to go with Mustaffa, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong told the court.
Mustaffa had also pulled her off a mattress she was sitting on, causing her buttocks to hit the floor.
"The accused then dragged the victim out of the room and into the corridor... by her legs," Mr Ng said.
His cousin then called the police. When they arrived, Ms Shahiqah refused to have a medical examination but told them she had bruises from Mustaffa's assault.
She later gave birth to a healthy boy and married Mustaffa last year.
On March 24 last year, Mustaffa was driving a rented car on the extreme right lane of the Kranji Expressway at about 9pm when he flashed the high beam at a car travelling in front of him at 60 to 70kmh.
The car moved to the middle lane, but when the vehicles were side by side, both drivers wound down their windows to exchange vulgarities and rude gestures.
They then stopped their cars at the road shoulder and got out to confront each other.
When Mustaffa raised his hands, the other man, Lum Wai Keong, 49, punched him in the face.
Mustaffa returned to his car to grab a wooden stick about the length of two arms and hit Lum with it repeatedly until it broke.
Lum, who suffered abrasions on his knee and forearms, has been charged in court with assaulting Mustaffa. His case is pending.
Mustaffa told the court yesterday that he had hit Ms Shahiqah after losing control of himself because of stress from his recent divorce.
He also said that they had got married last December.
His lawyer told the court that the other incident was not a case of road rage and asked for a high fine without a custodial sentence so Mustaffa can continue to visit his son, who is now almost two years old and in foster care.
But Judge Joseph said he was convinced it was a case of road rage and Mustaffa had an issue controlling himself.
"I find your actions quite disgusting and despicable," he told the accused.
"You used violence once before and you did it again. You think our Singapore roads are some kind of lawless place? I have no sympathy for your actions."
He told Mustaffa that marrying the woman he hurt did not reduce his culpability. "Even though she is your wife now, that does not in any way diminish your responsibility."
He then sentenced Mustaffa to six weeks' jail for voluntarily causing hurt in the road rage case and four weeks' jail for hurting Ms Shahiqah.
Another charge for committing a rash act by pulling her off the bed was taken into consideration during sentencing.
For each count of voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined up to $5,000, or both.
For committing a rash act, he could have been jailed for up to a year, or fined up to $5,000, or both.
FOR MORE, SEE: Man threatened ex-girlfriend with knife when she said no to sex
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