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SINGAPORE: A 38-year-old man went on trial on Tuesday (Nov 3) over an alleged attack on his then-girlfriend that landed her in hospital with a fractured finger.<\/p>\n
Philipp Bonkatz, a German national, was initially given time to consider a fresh offer to plead guilty but ultimately chose to claim trial.<\/p>\n
He is contesting three charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, wrongful confinement and voluntarily causing hurt.<\/p>\n
The incident allegedly occurred around 3am on Mar 2, 2024, at a condominium unit in The Shore Residences in Marine Parade. The then-couple shared the apartment.<\/p>\n
The complainant, Ms Chin Kah Yan, took the stand as the prosecution’s first witness and described how she met Bonkatz.<\/p>\n
She said she was having drinks with a friend in March or April 2023 when her friend saw Bonkatz and shouted: “Oh, a Viking! A Viking!” The court heard evidence Bonkatz is over 2m tall.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin later became friends with Bonkatz, who began turning up for events she organised.<\/p>\n
They first went out together on National Day in August 2023 and she moved into his apartment in October that year.<\/p>\n
That same month, Bonkatz wrote an email to his then-employer, Lufthansa, requesting that Ms Chin be registered as his common-law spouse.<\/p>\n
Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang why she decided to move in with him, Ms Chin said she was already looking for a place to rent.<\/p>\n
She said Bonkatz suggested that she move in with him, and she agreed.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin testified that Bonkatz began being violent to her in December 2023, first in Tahiti, then New Zealand and Australia.<\/p>\n
They went for couples’ therapy and she began staying with her parents again on some days, reducing the amount of time she stayed over with Bonkatz.<\/p>\n
She said he first hit her in Singapore in January 2024. She then shifted half her things back to her parents’ place but would still go over to his home sometimes.<\/p>\n
Before Bonkatz hit her, Ms Chin said she thought their relationship was “almost perfect”.<\/p>\n
“Because he appeared to be very kind, very gentlemanly and he had a lot of social friends,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“But I think after December I quickly realised a lot of it was just a facade. He could pretend to be whoever you wanted him to be … but behind closed doors, I realised he was incredibly demeaning and violent even … and I found that out the hard way.”<\/p>\n
Bonkatz kept his eyes lowered without much expression while Ms Chin testified. He was separated from her by a folding panel in front of the dock that the court implemented as a shielding measure for Ms Chin, whom the prosecutor said was afraid of him.<\/p>\n
There is no gag order on her identity.<\/p>\n
Describing the incident that occurred on Mar 2, 2024, Ms Chin said she was at home working on her laptop and asked Bonkatz to come home.<\/p>\n
When he entered the apartment between 2am and 3am, he was “a bit annoyed at me already because I didn’t greet him”, said Ms Chin.<\/p>\n
She said he sounded very irritated and asked what some paper was doing on the floor. She guessed that the wind must have blown them to the floor since she left the balcony door open to air the place.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin said Bonkatz threw a piece of paper at her, annoying her. She then threw the paper back at him.<\/p>\n
After this, she said he pushed her so she fell on her buttocks.<\/p>\n
He then retrieved a bottle from the fridge and started drinking from it.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin said she was angry and used an expletive, asking Bonkatz how he could do this and pushed him back in his torso area.<\/p>\n
“In response, he coughed. He got visibly very enraged and he pulled me up. I was kind of having a low bun or low ponytail, he grabs me by the hair and pulls me up almost 42cm off the ground, because that is our height difference, and he pulls me so I’m face to face with him,” said Ms Chin, who is 1.59m tall.<\/p>\n
She said she felt pain in her scalp.<\/p>\n
After this, she asked Bonkatz to let her go and grabbed onto his “man bun” with her hands. They struggled and fell to the floor together.<\/p>\n
Around this point, court proceedings were interrupted as Bonkatz had been spotted using his phone in the dock.<\/p>\n
Asked by District Judge Shen Wanqin if he had recorded anything, Bonkatz said he was “typing messages”. She told him to refrain from using his phone during court proceedings and moved on.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin said she was in a lot of pain and terror while Bonkatz lifted her by the hair because she was dangling in the air “for what feels like a very long time”.<\/p>\n
“And this was supposed to be my partner at that point, so I was feeling very distraught … because of the romantic expectations that a partner should protect and love you and not abuse you,” she said.<\/p>\n
She said she felt terrified because Bonkatz was a lot bigger than her. She said she had previously made a formal police report for other alleged occasions of abuse.<\/p>\n
“He had used his much bigger physical stature to intimidate me, to pin me down, prevent me from leaving, attack me, sucker punch me,” she said.<\/p>\n
In the struggle, she said Bonkatz bit her pinky finger.<\/p>\n
She was later hospitalised with a fractured finger.<\/p>\n
The alleged victim testified for over an hour before the hearing was adjourned until Wednesday. She did not get to the portions in the charges where Bonkatz allegedly confined her in the balcony, or lifted her up by her crotch and jaw before throwing her on the ground.<\/p>\n
The hearing began late, at 4.30pm, since Bonkatz had been deliberating over whether or not to plead guilty.<\/p>\n
Ms Chin is expected to resume giving evidence on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
If convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Bonkatz could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.<\/p>\n
If convicted of wrongful confinement, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.<\/p>\n
If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,909), or both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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