Elderly woman granted protection order against husband after 50 years of physical, verbal abuse

SINGAPORE - A woman who suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband during their 50-year marriage has been granted a personal protection order against him.

According to a judgment dated Oct 22, the husband struck his wife with a walking stick, punched her in the eye, and hurled vulgarities at her.

The wife also testified he was prone to throwing and smashing objects at home when angry.

They had two daughters, one of whom died. The ages of the couple were not stated in court documents.

The wife sought several orders in court, including a personal protection order, which legally restrains the husband from committing family violence against her, and a no-contact order prohibiting the husband from communicating with her.

Magistrate Soh Kian Peng granted both orders, and a domestic exclusion order which restricts the husband from his wife’s bedroom in the flat they share.

The couple was also ordered to attend counselling.

The magistrate said there was a lack of documentary evidence at the trial, noting that the only documents filed were a statement by the wife and several images of police case cards which suggested that police reports had been made.

It was not mentioned in the judgment if the husband was ever arrested or charged with abusing his wife.

Over 20 years ago, her husband punched her in the eye while she was working as a supermarket cashier. No further details of this incident were provided in court papers.

The wife’s account of physical abuse by her husband over the years was corroborated by her grandson at the trial, who testified that he had witnessed his grandfather hitting and scolding her.

The magistrate said: “(The grandson) told me that (his grandmother) had endured this for the sake of keeping the family together. He described the impact of this abuse: (His grandmother) would just cry quietly on her own.”

Although the husband initially admitted to punching his wife in the eye in his testimony, he later denied abusing her.

Weary wife

Accepting the wife’s account over the husband’s, the magistrate said: “It was clear to me, based on the tone and manner in which the wife had given evidence, that she had indeed endured much over the long years of her marriage.

“She spoke with the weary air of a person whose tolerance had long since run dry.”

In granting the personal protection order for the wife’s safety, the magistrate said a major risk factor was certain aspects of the husband’s personality.

“The husband struck me as a man who was either incapable or unwilling to consider the impact that his words or actions could have on those closest and dearest to him,” said the magistrate.

The magistrate cited an incident 13 years ago brought up by the wife during the trial, where the husband “had driven their youngest daughter to commit suicide because he had chased her out of the house, leaving her with nowhere to turn to”.

The wife said her husband refused to go when they were notified to collect their daughter’s body.

As the wife was recounting this, the husband smiled. When the magistrate asked what he found amusing about his wife’s testimony, the husband said he disagreed with her account.

In his testimony, the husband denied any responsibility for his younger daughter’s suicide.

He admitted telling her not to return home, citing their religious differences and that she was in a relationship with a woman.

The magistrate said: “The husband’s inability to appreciate the impact that his words or actions could have on others, when considered in light of the history of abuse against the wife, in my judgment, increased the risk of him inflicting family violence on her in the future.

“It meant that his behaviour towards her was unlikely to change for the better.”

Nadine Chua is a correspondent covering crime and court at The Straits Times.