The father of a one-year-old infant, desperate to stay in Singapore and to see his daughter, slashed the throat of his estranged Singaporean wife who had rebuffed his demands, the High Court heard yesterday.

Indian national Krishnan Karunakaran, 45, had confronted Madam Boomichelvi Ramasamy with a knife outside her Hougang flat to threaten her into extending his visa and allowing him to see their child.

The 38-year-old teacher survived the life-threatening injury, which severed her internal jugular vein, a major blood vessel. She was discharged from hospital two days after emergency surgery.

Yesterday, Krishnan pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted culpable homicide and one charge of criminal intimidation over the Oct 27, 2013 incident. Two other charges - for trying to stab Madam Boomichelvi's abdomen and for threatening her domestic worker - will be considered during sentencing, which was adjourned to Friday.

The court heard yesterday that the couple went through a temple wedding ceremony in India in 2011 but did not register their marriage.

Krishnan, who ran a herbal medicine business, came to Singapore in July 2012. The couple separated less than a year later. In June 2013, Madam Boomichelvi told him not to come back to the flat, where she lived with their daughter, her older daughter from a previous marriage, and her domestic worker.

On Oct 26, 2013, Krishnan went to the flat to ask the victim to get his long-term visit pass extended but she gave him back his passport and told him to remove his things from the flat. He also asked to see their baby but she closed the door on him.

The next morning, Krishnan tucked a knife under his singlet and waited for her at the lift lobby of her block. About 20 minutes later, when the door opened with the victim inside, he barged into the lift.

He whipped out the knife, pointed it at her and repeated his demands. He grabbed her hair when she refused, as she shouted for help. When the lift door opened on the fifth floor, Krishnan made her walk towards her front door, pointing the knife against her back.

In front of the flat, with her maid and nine-year-old daughter watching through the metal gate, the victim had her throat slashed as she struggled with Krishnan.

As she cupped her throat to stop the blood from gushing from the open wound, Krishnan shouted "Die!" in Tamil before running off.

The maid opened the gate to help her employer while her daughter called the police. Meanwhile, Krishnan called the police to confess his crime. He was arrested at the void deck when police arrived.