S'porean woman who stabbed husband to death in Dec. 2023 given 31 months' jail, sentence backdated to date of arrest

A Singaporean woman who stabbed her husband and caused his death during a fight in 2023 has been sentenced to 31 months in prison on Oct. 14.

Her sentence was backdated to Dec. 12, 2023, the date she was arrested, according to The Straits Times.

Thus, her 31 months' imprisonment took effect and will count from Dec. 12, 2023.

Just before midnight on Dec. 11, 2023, Baniyah Shap, then 50, was engaged in a scuffle with her 62-year-old husband at a void deck in Ang Mo Kio, court documents seen by Mothership stated.

She had been armed with a foldable knife, which she used to give him a puncture wound.

The knife blade was about 6.5cm long, CNA reported.

The incident

The court heard that before the scuffle broke out between Baniyah and her husband, a separate dispute first arose about Baniyah's brother that night, CNA reported.

Around 11pm on Dec. 11, 2023, Baniyah and her brother went to a senior citizen's corner near her block to watch people play carrom, and were later joined by their friends, a couple.

Baniyah's brother was allegedly close to the woman in the couple, Marie Muniandy.

When the dispute about her brother began, Baniyah managed to resolve the issue by talking to Muniandy's boyfriend, then left for home.

Back home, she saw that her granddaughter was playing with her phone while her husband was asleep, and she woke him up angrily, accusing him of neglecting their granddaughter.

Baniyah went back to the void deck, and was further angered to see her brother sitting with Muniandy. She began to shout at them.

Her husband, who had followed her outside, grabbed her from behind and told her to go home.

Baniyah resisted and began scuffling with her husband, according to CNA.

He locked his arms around her neck, causing her to struggle and fall.

Holding on to bunch of keys with foldable knife

Baniyah had been holding onto a bunch of keys with a foldable knife attached.

When she fell, the keys also fell and caused the blade of the knife to pop open.

Baniyah extended the blade and held the knife as she continued to struggle with her husband, then swung and struck him on his thigh.

Bystanders attended to him immediately while his thigh bled profusely.

Baniyah stood at the scene for some time before returning home to wash and hide the weapon.

She then went back to the void deck with a blanket, and shouted at the gathered crowd not to call for the police or an ambulance, saying she was capable of attending to her husband, CNA reported.

By then, he was already unconscious and unresponsive, and he eventually died at a hospital on Dec. 12.

15 charges

By the time of her sentencing on Oct. 14, Baniyah faced a total of 15 charges.

According to CNA, she pleaded guilty to seven of the charges, including three related to the stabbing: causing death by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, and possessing an offensive weapon, and obstructing justice by washing and hiding the knife after the incident that same day.

Apart from these three, Baniyah's other charges were not related to the incident.

They mainly involved deceiving different banks into opening bank accounts in her name, and providing internet banking access information to others to facilitate unauthorised transactions.

The bank accounts she relinquished were later used in scams, according to CNA.

She pleaded guilty to four such charges, and the eight remaining charges were considered in sentencing.

The prosecutor sought a total sentence of two years and nine months (33 months) in prison for all of Shap's offences, CNA reported.

Shap's act was "deliberately rash" and exhibited a "blatant disregard for human life", the prosecutor said.

He added that her reaction after the incident revealed a lack of remorse, as she went home to clean and hide the knife, then attempted to stop others from giving aid to her husband.

However, Baniyah’s lawyer Taufiq Suraidi argued that her reaction could not be interpreted as lacking remorse, as she was in a state of panic and shock, ST reported.

A person convicted of committing a rash act causing death can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

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