SINGAPORE — After having dinner and drinks to celebrate his birthday, a man repeatedly assaulted his girlfriend, causing her to suffer a broken eye socket, a court heard.

At the State Courts on Monday (30 September), Muhammad Fairuz Juprey, 30, was jailed for nine months after he pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous hurt.

On his 30th birthday in late November last year, Fairuz went for dinner around Clarke Quay with his 37-year-old girlfriend.

Afterwards, they went to a nearby pub and had “a significant amount of alcohol”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Leanne Cheng.

Later, in the wee hours of the next morning, the duo went to Royal Plaza on Scotts, a hotel along Scotts Road. Fairuz tried booking a room but the hotel had no vacancies.

At the staircase leading to the entrance of the hotel, the couple quarrelled. Fairuz repeatedly tried taking his girlfriend’s hand to get her to follow him. But she resisted his attempts and pushed his hands away.

Suddenly, he slapped her once and hit her head twice with his hand. He then grabbed her hair and pulled it backwards, causing her to fall to the ground.

As his girlfriend lay on the ground and used her hands to cover her face, Fairuz punched her head once and kicked her body.

Shortly after, the victim stood behind a passer-by who tried to calm Fairuz down. But when the passer-by stepped aside, Fairuz lunged towards his girlfriend and punched her head and body several times.

Fairuz only stopped when the passer-by intervened and separated the couple.

When police arrived, Fairuz denied hitting his girlfriend. He was observed to be drunk, incoherent and uncooperative.

The girlfriend was sent to hospital with a swollen left eye, some bleeding in the eye, and a broken left eye socket. She was offered surgery to repair the fracture but she was not keen.

She was discharged later that day with 15 days of hospitalisation leave. She was given outpatient clinic appointments with the minor head injury clinic, plastic surgeons and eye doctors.

The maximum punishment for causing grievous hurt is up to 10 years’ jail along with a fine or caning.

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