SINGAPORE - Angry with his wife following a dispute involving their children, a 48-year-old man punched the woman's face multiple times, causing injuries that included a broken nose.

Ong Kim Huat was fined $2,000 on Monday (June 11) after pleading guilty to one count of assault.

A second assault charge, which stated that he had used a cane to repeatedly hit her back, was considered during sentencing.

Ong and his 41-year-old wife were in their Yishun flat at around 11pm on March 17 last year when they started quarrelling.

His lawyer, Mr Luke Lee, told District Judge Luke Tan that the quarrel broke out after the couple's older son was handed over to Ong's sister.

Mr Lee and court documents did not mention the reasons behind how the boy ended up in the woman's care.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Yanying said: "During the dispute, the victim took a fruit knife and told the accused to kill her. The victim held the knife such that its blade was pointing towards herself. The accused ignored the victim... the dispute ended and the victim put the knife away."

But soon after, Ong picked up a cane and used it to hit his wife's back. He then rained blows on her face, causing her nose to bleed.

"During the course of investigations, the accused claimed that he had caned and punched the victim to send her a message that her use of a knife during the earlier dispute was wrong," said DPP Tan.

The injured woman later went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she was found to be suffering from a broken nose and a 1cm cut over her right eye. She also alerted the police, the court heard.

On Monday, Mr Lee told the court that his client's marriage is "still subsisting and happy".

He added that the assault was a one-off incident and that the couple's son will be returned to his parents soon.

Before handing out the sentence, Judge Tan noted that the wife has since forgiven her attacker and the couple have also reconciled.

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