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Man Sentenced to Jail for Dragging Girlfriend by Her Hair, Kicking Her & Stomping Her Head

2021-06-24 , 6:51 pm

When one is said to have violent tendencies on more than one occasion, they either:

Have no self-control, or
Simply do not care

Sometimes, it may even be both.

Man Sentenced to Jail for Voluntarily Causing Hurt to Girlfriend

On Wednesday (23 June), 31-year-old Rahiman Rahim was sentenced to two months’ jail for voluntarily causing hurt to a 32-year-old woman, who was his girlfriend. He was also fined S$1,000 for a separate incident where he was guilty of using criminal force against a taxi driver.

There were also two other charges taken into consideration during his sentencing. One charge was for failing to wear a mask during the assault while the other was for using threatening words against the taxi driver.

The couple were meeting friends at Rumours Beach Club on 29 July last year at 4.40pm for a drinking session. However, a few hours later around 8pm, both the accused and victim—who were both drunk—got into an argument.

The accused reportedly dragged the victim outside with his arm around her head, after which he slapped and punched her, causing her to fall to the ground. He also allegedly shouted at her and kicked her in the face while she was on the ground.

The prosecution has described this incident as a “particularly cruel” attack.

One found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt can be sentenced to up to three years’ jail and fined up to S$5,000. One found guilty of using criminal force can be sentenced to up to three months’ jail and fined up to S$1,500.

The Exact Details of the Incident

According to CNA, after the couple got into an argument, the accused dragged the victim outside by her hair, for about two meters along the footpath.

He then dropped her on the ground, and proceeded to throw one of her belongings at her head while she lay on her side on the footpath.

Ever heard of the bystander effect?

Yeah, turns out it’s something very real, despite how one might go: Couldn’t be me! If I was there, I would have gone up to stop him.

As it is, the court heard that at least seven people walked by during that time, and none offered to help the victim. Camera footage that had been played in court showed these people either stopping for a short while or just walking past.

The accused then kicked the victim in the face one time, after which she allegedly fell onto her back and rolled sideways. Clutching the back of her head with one hand, the victim then rolled onto her knees and bent over.

You would think that one kick would have been bad enough.

Unfortunately not, because a certain someone clearly did not learn the meaning of “don’t bully the weak”.

While the victim was in the aforementioned position, she had her back to the accused. Rahiman then proceeded to kick the victim again, this time at the bottom of her spine.

According to court documents, “The accused then stomped once on the back of her head and kicked her once in the side of the head. The accused then kicked the victim three times in the face while she lay on the ground, defenceless.”

Intervention of Witness

Finally, a 20-year-old man nearby heard the commotion. Instead of ignoring the incident like others, he told his friend to inform the police, before proceeding to make his way to separate the accused from the woman.

When the accused saw him approaching, he allegedly walked up to the witness and placed his hand on the witness’ chest, telling him not to get involved.

Replying that he only wanted to check on the victim, the witness told Rahiman that the police was already on the way. Hearing that, the accused then threw the victim’s belongings on the ground. He told the witness that they belonged to the victim before returning to the club.

Afterwards, the witness then carried the victim to where his friends were. The victim had been lying on the ground as she cried in pain. The court heard that the victim and his friends then gave her water and antiseptic wipes, comforting her till the police and paramedics arrived.

Shortly after, the accused returned to the scene. He admitted to attending police officers of his offence, telling them that he had “lost control” during the argument.

Victim Suffered from Many Injuries

After the incident, the victim was brought to Singapore General Hospital in an ambulance. However, on arrival, the victim told the staff that she did not require medical attention.

Instead, she said that she wanted to go home to rest. On the next day, however, the victim realised the state of her injuries and went to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital to seek medical attention.

The victim suffered injuries to her face and arm, as well as multiple abrasions, the court heard. An X-ray done at a follow-up appointment on 19 August, revealed findings indicated a suspected nasal bone fracture, which required further review.

However, the victim allegedly did not turn up for her subsequent scheduled appointments. According to the victim, later on, this was because “she felt traumatised that the accused, someone she loved, had done this to her”.

The couple has since broken up.

Clashed with Taxi Driver

On 12 November last year, Rahiman got into another altercation with a 58-year-old taxi driver in a separate incident. The incident took place at the taxi stand at Chinatown Point mall, around 8.30 pm when both the taxi driver and the accused were trying to enter the taxi stand.

The accused had allegedly been working as a Grab delivery rider then. Reportedly, the victim was about to make a left turn into the taxi stand when Rahiman sounded his horn at the victim to indicate that he too, was turning left.

The court heard that Rahiman then proceeded to swerve in front of the victim from the right.

According to court documents, “The victim, thinking that a friend had sounded the horn, sounded his horn once in reply”.

Alright, that’s why we do not use the horn to communicate friendly intentions.

Hearing that, Rahiman had reportedly approached the victim’s taxi, asking “You stupid or what?” and challenging the victim to a fight. There had been at least four members of the public witnessing the scene at that time.

I can just guess how this guy’s mind works: violence is the only answer.

The accused then hit the top of the taxi before walking into the mall. After that, the victim alighted his taxi and walked over to Rahiman’s motorcycle to take a photo of its licence plate number.

Having returned to his motorcycle by this point, the accused, believing that “the victim was taking a photograph or video of him”, became angry and approached the victim “aggressively”.

Demanding that the victim delete the photograph, he pushed the victim’s hands, causing the victim’s handphone to fall on the ground and crack. Rahiman then swept it away with his foot.

According to court documents, “The victim quickly picked his handphone up. The accused tried to snatch the victim’s handphone away again, but the victim resisted his action. At this point, a member of the public told the accused to stop”.

“Don’t let me see you in the market,” Rahiman reportedly threatened the victim when he returned to his taxi. After that, he allegedly rode off.

Featured Image: Doidam 10 / Shutterstock.com