A few days back, my girlfriend asked me a rather startling question:
“Would you ever marry another woman behind my back?”
And in response, I simply smiled and looked her squarely in the eyes.
“You’re the only one for me. In this life. Always.”
“Oh you’re so sweet!” she exclaimed, before double-slapping my cheeks in excitement. “You little sweet talker!” she finished, socking me in the face as she leapt in joy.
“Of… course…” I half-groaned as I nursed my now-defunct face. “Of course…”
Bigamy will kena sentence in Singapore one de leh, you think I want to eat prison food ah?!
I paused.
I mean sure it’s pretty healthy, but…
“Sorry, did you say something?” she asked halfway through some ritualistic dance of joy.
“I love you,” I said.
I’m not kidding though
Now, the introductory paragraph might’ve been one filled with ‘fluff’, but one key aspect is true:
Bigamy is not tolerated in Singapore, even if technically, the second marriage isn’t even in Singapore.
Before anything, here’s your English teacher telling you what “bigamy” means: it’s “the offence of marrying someone while already married to another person.”
Editor: English teacher? You got it from Google, didn’t you, you half-f—
Anyways, there’s no better example of this notion, than the aforementioned article headline which I shall now proceed into in earnest.
Married S’porean Man Jailed Because He Married Another Woman in the US
According to TODAYonline, a 58-year-old married man had found himself in hot water, after it was revealed that he had registered a second marriage with another woman in Las Vegas last year (2018).
And by hot water, I mean a stellar one-month jail sentence.
Apparently, the court heard that Ronnie Oh Yin Yan had solemnised his marriage to his Singaporean first wife, who’s now 56, at Singapore’s Registry of Marriages 32 years ago. Since their union in 1987, they’ve stayed married.
In April 2016, however, Oh got to know a 26-year-old woman on a social media website. Things worked out, and they began dating.
According to reports, Oh also paid the younger woman a monthly sum to work in his company and for companionship.
Marriage
Thereafter, Oh reportedly told the 26-year-old that he would give her a higher monthly allowance if she married him.
She took him up on his offer.
What a way to propose.
Despite being aware of his ongoing marriage to his wife in Singapore, Oh suggested registering their marriage in the United States. And the younger woman evidently agreed, seeing as they went on to register their marriage in Las Vegas on March 28 last year (2018).
However, because Oh’s first wife is not deceased, this second marriage is considered void.
Also, it has certain court complications as well.
Ongoing disputes
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Ben Mathias asked for a sentence of one month’s jail.
This was later argued against by Oh, who expressed hopes for a lighter sentence as his company reportedly needed him.
“I quarrel with her every day,” he told the judge through a Mandarin interpreter. “On my way here I also quarrelled with her.”
It has to be mentioned at this point in time, his wife was in court.
Also, Oh stated that he had medical conditions, including difficulties walking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
But there was no bargaining here
After Oh aired his piece, the prosecutor responded by saying that a month’s jail was already “on the lower end”.
For attempted bigamy (or marrying again while his spouse was alive), Oh could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.
Long story short, Oh should count his blessings that he only has one month to serve.
Incidentally, upon being approached by reporters after the hearing, Oh’s first wife reportedly walked away quickly and said in Mandarin:
“Don’t ask me. I’m not happy.”
Well, it looks like perhaps…
Oh’s first marriage might soon find itself void too.
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
