Man choked pregnant girlfriend, trapped her in room; she climbed out window to escape

SINGAPORE - To escape from her boyfriend who had choked and trapped her in his room, a pregnant woman climbed out of a window and fell from the second floor of an HDB block in Woodlands.

She had multiple fractures, including at her rib and pelvic bone, and was bruised all over. Court documents did not mention what happened to her unborn baby.

Alerted by someone who witnessed the incident, the police went to the scene and arrested the boyfriend, Indonesian Hans Pratignyo.

On Sept 15, the 28-year-old Singapore permanent resident pleaded guilty to one charge each of wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt.

Three other similar charges will be taken into consideration for Hans’ sentencing on Nov 6, pending a report to assess his suitability for a mandatory treatment order (MTO). Offenders given an MTO have to undergo treatment to address their conditions in lieu of time behind bars.

Hans was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health, where a psychiatrist found that he suffers from delusional disorder of the persecutory subtype.

Those who have this mental condition hold false beliefs with conviction, despite the lack of credible evidence. The psychiatrist believed that his condition contributed to the offences.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jun Ya told the court that Hans’ girlfriend, a 25-year-old Indonesian woman, arrived in Singapore on Nov 14, 2024, and stayed in his rented room.

She was five months pregnant with Hans’ child at the time.

On the night of Dec 1, Hans closed the windows and curtains in his room and unplugged the air-conditioning, before going to the supermarket to buy charcoal and several lighters.

After returning with the items, he closed the room door and moved his refrigerator behind it, so his girlfriend could not leave the room.

The girlfriend went into the room’s toilet, upon which Hans set some tissue paper on fire, put it on top of a stack of charcoal, and placed it near the toilet exit.

“The victim was unable to escape from the toilet and she felt alarmed by the accused’s actions,” said DPP Tan.

The next morning, Hans set alight another stack of charcoal in the room.

He pulled the victim into the toilet, forced her to sit on the toilet bowl, and said, “Don’t kill my girlfriend”, as if she were someone else.

“The victim started experiencing pain in her eyes due to the smoke emitting from the burning charcoal and she feared for her life,” said DPP Tan.

The victim asked to spend two hours outside the toilet and promised to follow Hans’ instructions.

But after she left the toilet, a scuffle broke out and he choked her as she lay on the floor.

She eventually managed to escape his grip and climbed out of the room window to call for help.

Hans attempted to pull her back, but she broke free again and fell from the second floor to the ground, landing on her right hip.

She then ran towards a nearby gym to seek help and Hans ran after her. The police arrived shortly after and arrested him.

The victim was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was warded for 11 days.

Given Hans’ condition, DPP Tan did not object to the calling for an MTO suitability report.

Hans is represented by Mr Rohit Kumar Singh from Regal Law, and is currently out on bail of $10,000 bail while awaiting his sentencing.