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A 56-year-old man took a 16cm cleaver and attempted to slash his sister's ex-husband while intoxicated.
This was after the accused suspected his former brother-in-law had stolen fruit from his potted plant.
Pong Yoke Long got 12 weeks' jail for one count of voluntarily causing hurt to his former brother-in-law, Lim Boon Kiong, aged 49.
Lim was previously married to Pong's sister, but the pair have been divorced for more than two years.
Despite this, Pong and his sister continued to reside at Lim's flat in Bedok.
The relationship between Pong and Lim got worse over time.
Over potted plant fruit
Both Pong and Lim enjoyed keeping plants, and would place their potted plants out on the 10th floor common corridor of a HDB block of flats.
However, both would get into frequent disputes with each other over the placement of their plants.
On the morning of May 10, Pong noticed that one of the fruits which had been growing on his plant had gone missing, and assumed that Lim had taken it for himself.
Pong then went drinking and returned at 8:30pm.
He saw Lim sitting on the living room sofa, and in a fit of rage, retrieved a 16cm cleaver from the living room kitchen and proceeded to slash Lim.
He said in Hokkien that he had been tolerating Lim for very long.
The commotion caused Pong's sister to emerge from her bedroom, and she attempted to intervene by grabbing hold of Pong and tried to hold him back.
Lim suffered lacerations to him limbs and thigh before locking himself in a room and calling the police.
The police received the call for help around 9pm.
Lim was taken to Changi General Hospital for his injuries to be assessed.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dhiraj G Chainani asked for 12 weeks' jail, saying that the attack was grave and involved a dangerous weapon, which could potentially have killed the victim, CNA reported.
However, he noted that the injuries caused were minor.
In mitigation, Pong pleaded for leniency.
He said he was the sole caregiver for his mother, who had been in and out of hospital.
He added that his member of parliament had also written in on his behalf.
The judge agreed with the prosecution's sentencing submissions but noted Pong's plea of guilt.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Pong could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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