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A 29-year-old Indonesian woman was on Tuesday (May 30) sentenced to eight months' jail for scalding her 24-year-old Malaysian husband with hot water because he wanted a divorce.

Rahimah Nisva travelled to Singapore from Batam and ambushed her husband outside his house while in disguise.

She caused him to suffer second-degree burns on his upper back.

Rahimah was arrested within four hours of the attack on Mar. 23, 2023, and has been remanded since.

Husband found her possessive

According to court documents, Rahimah and her husband have been married since 2019. They registered their marriage in Batam, where Rahimah resided.

They have a daughter, who was born in January 2023.

The relationship between the married couple worsened in December 2022 as the husband felt Rahimah was too possessive.

He talked about divorce, she was unhappy

On Mar. 19, 2023, the husband travelled to Batam from Singapore to meet Rahimah and her mother.

Even though he raised the possibility of a divorce, Rahimah did not display any unhappiness.

However, after he returned to Singapore, Rahimah took a ferry from Batam to Singapore with her female colleague a few days later on Mar. 22.

Her colleague did not know what she was up to, as Rahimah had invited her on what she claimed was a leisure trip.

They arrived at Singapore Cruise Centre at about 6pm that day.

Travelled to her husband's house in Singapore

After arriving in Singapore, Rahimah told her colleague she needed to "meet her husband to obtain some documents".

The two women then went to a hawker centre near her husband's flat along Balam Road.

Rahimah told her colleague to wait for her at the hawker centre.

She then changed into a black dress and donned a niqab, a female Muslim headgear that leaves one's eyes exposed.

Wearing the disguise, Rahimah went to her husband's flat and scouted the area before returning to her colleague.

The two women subsequently spent the night at a hotel in Geylang.

The morning of the attack

At about 6:30am the next morning, Rahimah checked out of her hotel, bringing a thermos flask she had filled with boiling water.

She then told her colleague that she wanted to meet her husband before they went back to Batam.

Donned in the same disguise to conceal her identity, she waited in ambush outside her husband's house at around 7:20am.

About 10 minutes after, he exited his house and sat on a chair outside his unit.

While tying his shoelaces, Rahimah ran towards him and splashed the boiling water on his back area.

Her husband screamed in pain, stood up and tried to remove his shirt. Meanwhile, Rahimah fled the scene.

Her husband's family members immediately called the police for help.

Arrested after attempting to flee Singapore after the attack

After the attack, Rahimah met her colleague, pretended nothing had happened, and headed to the Singapore Cruise Centre.

They boarded an outbound ferry from Singapore to Batam at 9:30am later that day.

Rahimah's colleague was still unaware of what she had done.

After the ferry had left Singapore and was en route to Batam, officers from the Police Coast Guard intercepted and stopped the ferry.

Rahimah was subsequently arrested.

His injuries

According to court documents, the husband went to Singapore General Hospital after being scalded.

He was found to have sustained a second-degree burn with blistering and skin loss over his upper back, extending to the back of his neck and part of his right arm.

He was given 16 days of medical leave and follow-up appointments with an outpatient clinic.

Offence was deliberate and premeditated: Prosecution

The prosecution had sought seven to nine months' jail for Rahimah, stating that her offence was deliberate and premeditated.

"The accused deliberately wore clothing that would conceal her identity, and specifically lay in wait outside the victim's home before ambushing him. She had also paid a visit to this location the day before, to familiarise herself with the area."

The prosecution added that Rahimah deliberately timed her attack when her husband was in a vulnerable position — bent down while tying his shoelaces, thus unable to evade the hot water she splashed on him.

Rahimah also tried to flee Singapore after committing the offence, the prosecution noted.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Rahimah cried in court and pleaded with the judge to let her return to her husband and children as soon as possible, adding that she is still breastfeeding her daughter.

She said that she was ashamed of what she had done.

Rahimah also claimed that while she was in remand, she could hear her baby daughter's cries every night.

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Top images via SPF & Shin Min Daily News.