Jail for woman who punched her mother and threatened her with penknife
Claudia Tan
The Straits Times
Dec 17, 2025
During a heated argument with her mother over household chores, a woman slapped and punched the older woman on her face and threatened her with a penknife.
She was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail by a district court on Dec 16 for her actions, after pleading guilty to one count of criminal intimidation and one count of voluntarily causing hurt.
Another two charges for harassment and breaching a Personal Protection Order were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Both women cannot be named as they are protected under the Women's Charter. The court heard that the older woman was granted a personal protection order against her daughter on Oct 1, 2014.
Court records showed that the 39-year-old woman lived with her mother, 59, in the latter's apartment, as it was near her son's school.
Investigations showed that the woman began arguing with her mother at about 1pm on Oct 10, after having consumed alcohol the night before.
At that time, her two children and a friend were also in the apartment.
As the argument escalated, the woman moved towards her mother and punched and slapped her on the left side of her face.
She then grabbed a penknife from the coffee table beside them and placed the tip of it on her mother's chest. The penknife's blade was not exposed.
When her mother did not engage, the woman went into the kitchen to reach for a kitchen knife.
Alarmed, the older woman ran to her neighbour's unit and called the police.
The woman left the apartment with her friend.
She was arrested on Oct 14, and remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for a psychiatric assessment.
The IMH report showed that the woman suffers from conduct and adjustment disorders.
But she was not of unsound mind at the time of the offences, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said.
DPP Nivethaa sought a jail term of between 10 and 12 weeks for the woman, noting that she used a weapon to threaten her mother and placed it on a vulnerable part of her body.
She added that the woman's intoxication should not be considered a mitigating factor, as she had drunk similar amounts of alcohol on previous occasions and had no trouble carrying out her daily activities.
In mitigation, the woman, who appeared in court via video link, said: "I am remorseful, and I wasn't clear-minded that day."
She added: "I don't want to hurt my family again... I hope I can reconcile with my family and continue to attend counselling."
For criminal intimidation, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
For voluntarily causing hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.
