Man to Serve Jail Time for Attacking Girlfriend With Knife in Public and Biting Off Her Earlobe

By
Sarah
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I suppose you’ve come to read this because of the “biting off her earlobe” part rather than him attacking his girlfriend with a knife.

And you know what: me too.

(We really need to reassess our priorities here.)

Sure, some relationships turn sour at times, but unless you’re Armie Hammer or Hannibal, biting off someone’s flesh isn’t the first thing you’d do when you get mad.

Viciously Attacked His Girlfriend

Chen Jianhua, a 31-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to five and a half years of jail on Tuesday (Feb 23), for attempted culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal intimidation, and trespass. A fourth charge for committing theft was taken into consideration.

On July 11, 2019, Mr Chen attacked Ms Ye Yuhuan outside popular Muthu’s Curry at Race Course Road. He used a ceramic knife to stab her in the neck and back and proceeded to bite off her earlobe before spitting it out.

Ouch.

According to CNA, the attack was not life-threatening but visible scars might remain.

Ms Ye suffered a 6cm and 15cm long laceration at her neck and back respectively, as well as multiple slashes on her hand. Her earlobe also had to be surgically reattached.

Yikes, that’s a disturbing image.

She was warded for seven days, and given 14 days’ hospitalisation leave.

Stole Her Belongings and Threatened Her

Mr Chen worked as a cook while Ms Ye worked as a hostess at a “flower joint” or entertainment spot in Race Course Road.

The two had lived at the same hostel but in different areas due to gender segregation. They became friends on the messaging app, WeChat. From February to June 2019, he bought her gifts and helped her out financially.

However, their relationship soured due to Mr Chen doubting the nature of her work, and felt that she was working more than a host at her job as reported by The Straits Times.

On July 7 2019, he forced his way into her room after she had gone to work, stealing her luggage.

From there, he had discovered a China train ticket and her Singapore disembarkation card which revealed that she was seven years older than him.

He also took her phone and two red packets containing $800 as he wanted to recover the money he had spent on her.

Mr Chen was caught returning to Ms Ye’s by one of her roommates who complained about him to the landlord.

Later, he confronted her about her age and demanded that she repay him for his expenditures on her over WeChat.

Additionally, he threatened to hurt her, according to TODAYonline. Sending voice messages, he claimed that “At most, we’ll die together. I’ll make you die” and “If you cannot repay in full, I see you, we’ll die together.”

They continued to quarrel over a few days and eventually, Ms Ye noticed the stolen items and her damaged luggage bag, which prompted her to think about lodging a police report.

Prepared To Kill Her

Mr Chen felt angered when she warned that she would report him and vowed to stab her if she did so. He went and bought a ceramic knife at a supermarket.

The final straw came when Mr Chen harassed Ms Ye by threatening to find her at her workplace, and even called her relatives in China to complain about her. Ms Ye finally filed a report on 11 July 2019.

After getting a call from an investigation officer, Mr Chen went to look for Ms Ye at Race Course Road and was “prepared to kill her”, according to Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPP) Dora Tay and Andrew Low. The brutal attack then occurred.

However, when Mr Chen saw the bleeding, he felt that he was too impulsive and threw the knife into the bushes. He even called the police on himself and tried to apply pressure to her wounds to stop the bleeding.

Several members of the public also called the police.

Disorder Impaired His Mental Responsibility

Mr Chen was later diagnosed with adjustment disorder after the incident.

According to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), it is a short-term maladaptive response to a stressor, resulting in the development of emotional and/or behavioural symptoms.

Taking this into account, the DPPs did not seek caning in his sentencing. Both the prosecution and Mr Chen’s lawyer agreed on five years’ jail.

Justice See Kee Oon also noted that Mr Chen’s attack was not impulsive, but he did reflect “genuine remorse and assumption of responsibility” in his actions.

The punishment for attempted culpable homicide not amounting to murder could have landed Mr Chen in jail for up to 15 years, gotten him fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.

So don’t bite off more than you can chew (or spit…never mind. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it).

Feature Image: Shutterstock.com / Brian A Jackson

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Sarah
Email: [email protected]