Possessive wife gets jail for scalding husband with boiling water as he wanted divorce

Singapore, May 31

A woman scalded her husband with hot water after he told her that he wanted a divorce.

Details of the incident in March were revealed in court after Rahimah Nisva pleaded guilty to assaulting her husband, a 24-year-old Malaysian man, The Straits Times reported.

The 29-year-old Indonesian was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Tuesday.

Muhammad Rahimi Shamir Ahmad Safuan and Rahimah, who lives in Batam, Indonesia, had tied the knot in 2019, but by December 2022, the marriage had soured as he felt she was too possessive, the report said.

Two months after she gave birth to their daughter in January 2023, he travelled from Singapore to Batam to meet with Rahimah and her mother.

Rahimi broached the possibility of a divorce at the meeting on March 19, and Rahimah did not display any signs of unhappiness.

He returned to Singapore the next day. But Rahimah was not over it, and made plans to confront her husband.

On March 22, she travelled from Batam with a female colleague and arrived at the Singapore Cruise Centre.

Her colleague had no idea what she was up to, and was told the trip was for leisure, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ong Xin Jie. They stayed at a hotel there.

The accused after reaching Singapore, she travelled to the victim’s residence and scouted the area, as she intended to familiarise herself with the area where the victim (lived).

Before checking out of the hotel the next day, Rahimah filled up a flask with hot water. She told her colleague that she wanted to meet her husband before heading home, the report added.

The DPP said Rahimah then returned to Balam Road, and donned a black dress and niqab– a veil with a small slit for the eyes – to conceal her identity. She arrived at Rahimi’s block and waited at a staircase landing near his flat.

After waiting 10 minutes, she saw him leaving the unit. While Rahimi was putting on his shoes, she ran towards him and splashed him with hot water, leaving him screaming in pain.

Rahimah then ran from the block and later met up with her unsuspecting colleague. The two women boarded a ferry to Batam at the Singapore Cruise Centre, but did not make it far.

The victim’s relatives had alerted the police and Police Coast Guard intercepted the craft while it was in Singapore territorial waters.

The victim went to Singapore General Hospital, where he was treated for a second-degree scald injury to his back.

He was given 16 days of medical leave and follow-up appointments with an outpatient clinic.

Rahimah, who was unrepresented by a lawyer, told the court on Tuesday that she was remorseful, adding that she hopes to be reunited with the victim.

Court documents did not disclose if their divorce has been finalised.