SINGAPORE - A cleaner flew into a rage after he spotted his pregnant wife, who used to be a sex worker, talking to a man he assumed was a pimp.

Jayselan N. Chandrasegar used a knife with a 10cm-long blade to stab Madam Mayuri Krishnakumar's abdomen twice. He also slashed her back before fleeing the scene.

On Tuesday (Dec 11), the court heard that the unborn baby was not harmed in the attack. Jayselan, 30, was sentenced to seven years' jail with six strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt to the 27-year-old woman with a weapon, and one count of failing to provide his urine sample after he was caught for suspected drug-related offences.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Houston Johannus said that the couple were married in 2013.

However, their marriage soured in October last year because of frequent quarrels over money and their older child, who was then three years old.

DPP Johannus told District Judge Ng Peng Hong: "The accused was also made aware that the victim's ex-boyfriend was trying to reconnect with her.

"This caused the accused to become overly possessive and distrustful of the victim. He then banned the victim from going out of the house."

When Madam Mayuri told Jayselan that she was pregnant, he refused to believe that the child was his and accused her of infidelity.

Unable to tolerate his aggression and verbal abuse any more, she ran away from their home on Dec 24 last year and sought refuge with her old friends, who were mainly sex workers, in Lorong 16 Geylang.

She also lived with them in their rented rooms, the court heard.

At around 11am on Dec 30 last year, Madam Mayuri was walking in the area to buy breakfast when she spotted an old friend, known only as Nanda, and started chatting with him.

Jayselan, who happened to be in the vicinity, became angry when he spotted the pair as he suspected that Nanda was a pimp.

He confronted the pair and accused his wife of becoming a sex worker again. Nanda then walked away, the court heard.

Before Madam Mayuri could reply, Jayselan punched and kicked his wife before attacking her with the knife.

He fled the scene after that and a passer-by alerted the police. Officers arrested him in Guillemard Road later that day.

His wife was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where she was found with injuries, including two small bowel perforations. The court heard that the unborn baby was at an unknown gestational age. Madam Mayuri was discharged on Jan 5 this year, said DPP Johannus.

Before this incident, police officers caught Jayselan in Bukit Batok for suspected drug-related offences on Oct 26 last year during their patrolling duties and took him to Jurong Police Divisional Headquarters. While there, he refused to provide a urine sample, the court heard.

On Tuesday, defence lawyer Gregory Fong pleaded for a jail term of between five and 5½ years. He also said that Madam Mayuri has forgiven Jayselan and the couple are still married to each other.