61-year-old married man who secretly wed maid in Batam jailed 2 months for bigamy
A 61-year-old man was jailed for two months after marrying an Indonesian domestic helper in Batam, despite already having a wife and daughter in Singapore.
The man, identified as Low Kok Peng, pleaded guilty to one count of bigamy on April 24.
His second wife, 50-year-old Indonesian national Komariah, faces one count of bigamy as well as a charge for breaching work permit conditions.
Court documents revealed that Low had married his first wife, now 55, in December 1992. The couple have a daughter.
In 2016, Low got to know Komariah through a friend while she was working in Singapore as a domestic helper. The two began a relationship which later turned intimate.
They continued the extramarital affair for eight years before traveling to Batam, Indonesia, where they held a Muslim wedding ceremony in 2024.
At the time, Low was still legally married and had not divorced his first wife.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the court heard that the domestic helper wanted to marry Low so she could buy a house in Batam. She had also failed to seek approval from the Ministry of Manpower before marrying him, thereby breaching her work permit conditions.
After the marriage, Low returned to Singapore and continued living with his first wife, who was unaware of his second marriage.
The case came to light after the Ministry of Manpower alerted the police on Jan 29 this year. Both parties were arrested in April.
The prosecution said Low had deceived his wife over a long period and deliberately carried out the marriage overseas to avoid detection, calling for a jail term of between two and three months.
Liu, who was unrepresented, did not make any plea in mitigation. He was eventually sentenced to two months’ jail.
According to a CNA report, Komariah was supposed to plead guilty on April 24, but it did not go through after the woman claimed she did not know Low was married until the investigations.
CNA reported that Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim refuted her claim, stating the prosecution’s stand that Komariah had been aware of this at all “material” times.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
