SINGAPORE – A 50-year-old woman was found guilty of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to her boyfriend, whom she suspected was cheating on her, by pouring boiling water over his groin as he slept.
Her actions left him hospitalised for 26 days and unable to work for about six months. He suffered second- and third-degree burn injuries over 12 per cent of his total body surface area.
The court rejected Zareena Begun P. A. M. Basheer Ahamed’s defence that it was an accident and convicted her on Monday (Sept 28).
In his submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said the couple began their relationship in 2006. Over the course of their tumultuous relationship, they had broken up a few times, each accusing the other of cheating.
On Jan 12, 2017, Zareena saw her boyfriend at the HarbourFront Centre ferry terminal with a woman with whom she had, since 2015, suspected he was having an affair.
In the wee hours of July 5 that year, Zareena took her boyfriend’s mobile phone from his bag as he slept in her living room after supper. She read messages that the other woman had sent him, and “was furious”, DPP Ng said.
