SINGAPORE — When his girlfriend wanted to break up with him, a man took a knife to her bedroom to threaten her, prompting her to run and fall down stairs where she sprained her ankle.

Even as the 31-year-old woman cried for help, Zhao Hua, 39, dragged her out of the house by the waist and told her they would “die together” if she continued to shout.

Zhao, a Chinese national, was jailed for five months on Wednesday (5 January) after he pleaded guilty to one count of being armed with a knife measuring 24cm in length, a weapon which is likely to cause death.

Another count of criminal intimidation was considered for his sentencing.

The pair had been dating for about four months. The woman had wanted to break up with Zhao on two occasions, but he took a knife from the woman’s room and threatened to harm himself.

On 1 November last year, the victim, who is also a Chinese national, sent Zhao a text to end the relationship. Zhao asked her for the reason and the victim said that the two did not have “complementary characters”. Zhao then said that he would visit the woman at her rented house to discuss their relationship.

Around 6pm, Zhao texted the woman’s housemate. He knew that his then-girlfriend would only reach home around midnight after work.

Zhao then visited the house and the woman’s housemate let him in. The housemate did not think much of Zhao visiting as she had seen him with the woman on several occasions within the house.

Zhao headed straight to the woman’s bedroom on the second floor. He was carrying a knife, which he kept under a table in the room, on a shelf where the victim kept her cutlery.

While awaiting the return of his girlfriend, Zhao drank a bottle of hard liquor and red wine from a bottle in the room.

The victim returned home around midnight and saw Zhao in the yard. She ignored him and walked up to her room, with Zhao following her.

The two got into a quarrel and the victim insisted that they break up. Hearing this, Zhao picked up his knife and pointed it at the victim, threatening to kill her.

Shocked, the victim fled from the room. She lost her footing and fell down the stairs, spraining her ankle. She then shouted for help but Zhao dragged her out of the house by her waist.

Zhao then covered the victim’s mouth, grabbed her neck, and told her to keep quiet. He said that the both of them would die together if she continued shouting. He released her after she pulled his hand away.

The commotion caught the attention of the housemate, who informed the landlord about the incident. The landlord then called the police who arrested Zhao.

The woman has since moved out of the house to avoid Zhao.

For being armed with a weapon likely to cause death, Zhao may be jailed up to two years, or fined, or both.

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