S'porean man, 46, gets jail & caning for slashing ex-wife, stealing jewellery worth S$14,900

A 46-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 25 months' jail and six strokes of the cane on Mar. 12 for slashing his ex-wife on the neck and back with a penknife, harassment and stealing his mother-in-law's jewellery totalling S$14,900.

The man had persistently kept in touch with the ex-wife after their divorce by driving her to and from work, making up reasons to do so, and even installing a location-tracking app on her phone.

Marriage

According to court documents, the man, Erwin Kho Ho Tiong, and his wife got married in 2007 and had three children together.

That same year, his mother-in-law moved to Johor Bahru.

Before the move, she left several gold necklaces and bracelets, totalling S$14,900, in the care of Kho's then-wife.

Divorce and missing jewellery

The marriage between Kho and his wife eventually broke down.

In 2023, Kho's mother-in-law returned to Singapore to help her daughter get through the divorce proceedings, but discovered that the jewellery was missing.

When questioned, Kho said he needed time to return the pieces.

They decided to settle the matter in private and did not go to the police.

It was later discovered that Kho had pawned the jewellery.

Installed location tracker on ex-wife's phone

Following the divorce, the couple sold their home and moved into a rented condominium unit.

Kho's ex-wife and children later moved into her brother's home, leaving Kho to reside on his own, as the home did not have enough room, and Kho had a history of theft.

Despite the arrangement, Kho still insisted on sending his ex-wife and children to and from work and school.

Whenever the ex-wife expressed reluctance, Kho would make up an excuse, such as wanting to discuss returning the jewellery and promising to do so.

The ex-wife later discovered that Kho had installed a location-tracking application on her phone.

She deleted it, warned Kho to stop with such behaviour and threatened to make a police report if he persisted.

However, Kho did not relent and continued trying to track and contact her.

In one instance in April 2025, he persistently questioned her about who she was travelling abroad with, and even showed up at the airport unannounced to pick her up.

Eventually, around April or May 2025, Kho made threatening communications to his ex-wife on several occasions while ferrying her to work.

Injured ex-wife with penknife

On May 19, 2025, at about 7:30am, while his ex-wife left for work, Kho showed up at the ground floor of her residence and offered to send her.

The ex-wife declined, but Kho told her that one of the gold bracelets was in his car, parked at the multi-storey car park.

Kho also told the ex-wife that he had a conversation with her mother about making compensation for the stolen jewellery.

The ex-wife then called her mother and put her on speaker as they walked to the car park.

When they arrived at the car, Kho suddenly snatched the ex-wife's phone out of her hand and tossed it into the car.

When she attempted to retrieve the phone, Kho pushed her into the car and threatened her with a penknife.

The mother-in-law heard the commotion through the phone and alerted the ex-wife's brother and the domestic helper to go to the car park to help.

Before they arrived, Kho stabbed her multiple times in the neck area and also slashed at her upper back and shoulders.

At this point, Kho had pinned her down on the car's backseat floodboard.

He was eventually subdued by the brother and the helper after they arrived at the scene.

The ex-wife was treated at a hospital for her injuries and discharged after three days.

Kho was eventually arrested and charged.

He has since returned the jewellery and made restitution.

Teared up in court and expressed regret

On Mar. 12, 2026, Kho appeared in court via video link.

According to 8world, he appeared fatigued and was sobbing.

He told the court that he regretted his actions, and, through his lawyer, admitted that he had been a bad partner, son and father.

He also told the court that he missed playing badminton together with his family.

Kho pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and one count of theft.

Another charge for harassment was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Top image via Canva