SINGAPORE - A man flew into a rage and punched his estranged wife in front of the vice-principals of their children's primary school following a domestic dispute.

The two vice-principals and a school counsellor had to intervene before the wife called for police assistance.

The offender was sentenced on Wednesday (Dec 23) to eight years, six months and three weeks' jail after pleading guilty to an assault charge and three drug-related offences.

The 43-year-old Singaporean was also ordered to receive six strokes of the cane.

Nine other charges, mainly for drug-related offences, were considered during sentencing.

Details about the couple and the school cannot be revealed to protect the identities of the two children - a nine-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.

The court heard that in June 2017, the man grabbed his daughter as he wanted to throw her down from the 10th storey of a block of flats.

It was not disclosed why he had acted in such a manner.

On July 1 last year, he went to the primary school with two of his siblings to look for his children.

He was already separated from his wife and was in the midst of divorce proceedings at the time.

Their daughter told a school counsellor that she did not want to meet her father. A vice-principal called the man's wife around noon to tell her about the situation.

The woman told the school not to allow the man to see their children.

She arrived at the school soon after to meet her husband in the principal's office.

The vice-principals and the counsellor were also present to facilitate the meeting.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong said: "During the conversation, the victim mentioned that the accused had not contributed anything for their children, and brought up a past incident involving the accused wanting to throw their daughter down from the 10th floor.

"In response, the accused became agitated. He stood up, lurched forward towards the victim and... punched the victim on the right side of her head."

The school staff intervened and the woman later went to Woodlands Polyclinic, where she was found to be suffering from tenderness to her scalp.

Separately, the man admitted in court that he had consumed drugs, including methamphetamine, in April and June this year.

For assault, he could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

For methamphetamine consumption, he could have been jailed for up to 13 years and given up to 12 strokes of the cane.