The human mind is capable of amazing feats – sending humankind to the moon, editing genes, vaccines for viruses – but it has yet to figure out a way to deal with romantic rejection.
Love, or the rejection of it, makes us do the silliest, and sometimes most dangerous, things.
In an ideal world, we’d simply stop contacting our ex-lover once they’ve broken up with us. But most of us can’t help but call them here and there, sent a drunk text or two, or stalk them on social media.
One man, however, went a little further than that: he doused his wife in petrol and threatened to set her on fire.
A Rocky Marriage
Murugan Nondoh married his wife, Ms Krishnaveny Subramaniam, back in 2007.
The Malaysian couple, both aged 40, lived in Johor Bahru.
As the years passed, their relationship deteriorated, and Murugan started to physically abuse his wife. He also had a gambling habit which left him in debt.
In Feb 2019, a friend of Ms Krishnaveny gave her a man’s contact number after she told her she was feeling lonely. It was given with the intention of their pair striking up a friendship, but her husband didn’t see it that way.
Ms Krishnaveny never met the man but chatted with him over the phone. One day, her husband confronted her after discovering a text message from the man on Ms Krishnaveny’s phone. She denied she was having an affair.
Ms Krishnaveny later filed for divorce and moved into her mother’s home. Despite his best efforts to reconcile, the 40-year-old woman declined to get back together with him.
Got a Job in Singapore
In June that year, Ms Krishnaveny managed to get a job in Singapore.
Since the couple was estranged, Murugan didn’t know where his wife worked. So, he waited at the Malaysian checkpoint for about four hours on five to six days that month, hoping to see her.
He finally did on the 25th.
Found Victim, Took Photo of Work Permit
When Ms Krishnaveny saw her husband, she warned him not to come close or she’d shout for help.
But that’s exactly what he did; he chased her and grabbed her bag, where he found his wife’s work permit.
The permit showed that Ms Krishnaveny worked in a company that deals with mechanical and chemical cleaning procedures, located in Woodlands.
He only returned the bag to his wife after taking a photo of the permit, when Ms Krishnaveny had informed Malaysian police officers in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of Ms Krishnaveny’s troubles, as her husband rode his bike from Malaysia to her workplace to look for her on several other occasions, and even tried applying for a job there.
Man Doused Wife in Petrol, Threatened to Set Her on Fire After Abducting Her
Things came to a head-on 1 July that year, when Ms Krishnaveny was walking out of her workplace.
At the time, she was speaking to her niece who lived in Malaysia. As she exited, Murugan rode up to her from behind and grabbed her neck.
Struggling to free herself, Ms Krishnaveny dropped her phone and shouted for help, crying. The phone call had not been cut so her niece heard everything. She informed her mother, who called the police in Singapore.
The victim tried to run away, but Murugan caught up to her on his bike, and doused her in petrol, threatening to set her on fire if she refused to go with him.
She gave in to his demand out of fear, and the pair rode off. Murugan alighted at one point and assaulted her.
There was no seeming destination in Murugan’s mind, however, and they rode around aimlessly, finally stopping at a cemetery near Nirvana Memorial Garden, a funeral home located in Old Choa Chu Kang Road.
Threatened to Kill Her & Commit Suicide
There, he repeatedly threatened to set her alight and then kill himself. What made his threat all the more convincing is that he brought along the sari and dhoti that they wore at their wedding 12 years ago.
The victim had seen couples committing suicide in their wedding outfits in Tamil movies, and thought Murugan had a similar plan in mind.
The 40-year-old lost hope at one point, and told Murugan to “just go ahead and burn her”.
Things seemed bleak for the victim, as Murugan even called a friend and asked him to bid farewell to his other friends.
Thankfully, the perpetrator didn’t go through with his threat.
Tried to Take Wife Back to Malaysia, Stopped at Tuas Checkpoint
Murugan said he would take the victim back to Malaysia, but only if she promised not to “make any problems” for him.
Said the man who doused her in petrol.
Ms Krishnaveny agreed, and assured Murugan that he wouldn’t get into any trouble.
However, they failed to get clearance at Tuas Checkpoint and Murugan was arrested after police officers arrived.
The victim was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital as she sustained bruises and suffered petroleum product ingestion.
Pleaded Guilty to Multiple Charges
Yesterday (22 Sep), the 40-year-old perpetrator pleaded guilty to multiple charges, which included abduction, criminal intimidation, and assault.
Before the incident, Murugan reportedly told his friends that he was not going to “let anyone have the victim since he cannot have her”.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way, my friend.
Murugan is expected to be sentenced on 29 Sep and could face a stint in jail of up to seven years. He could also be caned or fined, or any combination of these punishments.
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Featured Image: Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko/ shutterstock.com
