Woman found guilty of pouring boiling water on lover's groin

Suspecting her boyfriend was cheating on her, a woman poured boiling water on his groin while he was sleeping, to teach him a lesson.

Yesterday, Zareena Begum P.A.M. Basheer Ahamed, 50, was convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the victim by means of a heated substance.

The victim suffered second- and third-degree burn injuries over 12 per cent of his body, and was hospitalised for almost a month.

Zareena and the victim, a married man, began their relationship in 2006 and had been together for about 11 years.

Their relationship was a tumultuous one, marred by several break-ups and reconciliations.

In 2015, Zareena suspected he was seeing someone else.

On Jan 12, 2017, Zareena spotted him with the woman at HarbourFront Centre ferry terminal and their relationship deteriorated.

On July 4, 2017, Zareena invited the victim to her flat, where she cooked supper for him. They did not argue and watched television before the victim fell asleep on the sofa.

Zareena then took his mobile phone from his bag and saw text messages the woman had sent him.

FURIOUS

In his written submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said Zareena was furious and wanted to teach him a lesson for repeatedly letting her down.

He said: "She wanted to teach him a lesson that he would never forget."

Zareena went to the kitchen to boil water before emptying a mugful of it onto the victim's groin area while he slept soundly on the sofa at about 1.30am.

He woke up in excruciating pain in his groin and lap areas, and immediately jumped around to clear the excess water.

After removing his clothes and covering himself with a towel, the victim confronted Zareena, who responded with "serve you right".

He grabbed his bag and ran to the roadside to take a taxi to hospital.

When the victim contacted her about one and a half months after the incident, Zareena taunted him.

Zareena, who claimed trial, said it was an accident.

She said they had argued after she saw the messages on his phone, and she went to the kitchen to boil water to drink.

She claimed the victim had pulled her left arm, which caused her mug of hot water to spill onto his groin.

The victim, who is permanently scarred, said the injuries were so painful it made him "want to die".

While he was given 39 days' medical leave, he was unable to work for six months after the incident.

Zareena will return to court next month for mitigation and sentencing.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a heated substance, she can be jailed for life, or be jailed for up to 15 years and fined.