SINGAPORE - Angry that the woman he had feelings for could not meet him because she was out drinking with friends, Shao Changdong broke into her flat, threatened her with a knife and grabbed her neck so hard that it fractured.

The 27-year-old Chinese national then tried to take her back to his home but the police arrested him near a 7-Eleven store.

Shao was sentenced to 4½ years' jail on Thursday (Aug 26) after pleading guilty to one charge each of abduction, housebreaking, causing grievous hurt and criminal intimidation.

Two other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that Shao got to know the victim, a 28-year-old Singaporean woman, when they were renting bedrooms in the same flat in 2016.

She moved out and rented another room elsewhere in July 2019.

Shao confessed his feelings to her sometime in the middle of last year but he was turned down. The two continued to stay in touch as Shao owed her money.

On Sept 5 last year, Shao wanted to send fruits to the woman's house but she was out drinking with her friends and wanted to meet on another day.

Angry and jealous, as he believed her friends included other men, he headed to her house carrying a foldable knife, two sleeping pills, a white cloth and a bottle containing a mixture of water and cleaning agent.

He entered the flat using a key the victim kept at a window sill and forced open the locked door to her bedroom.

The victim screamed when she returned home and saw him standing behind the bedroom door. To stop her screaming, Shao grabbed her neck so tightly that she could not breathe.

He then locked the door and covered her face using the cloth with the cleaning agent.

Shao instructed the victim to swallow the sleeping pills he brought but she only pretended to comply. He held the blade of the knife against her neck, saying: "If you do not want to see blood, you'd better listen to what I say."

He eventually dragged her out of her home and they stopped at a convenience store to buy drinks and cigarettes.

There, the victim held onto a display shelf as Shao pulled her, causing it to topple. Shao then carried her out of the store as the victim flailed about. Video footage of the scene was played in court.

A taxi driver saw the commotion and called the police. When the police approached, Shao placed the victim in a chokehold, but let go when the officers told him to do so.

The victim was taken to Singapore General Hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured bone in her neck. She was given 20 days of medical leave.

Seeking a jail term of between four and six years, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said there was a high degree of premeditation and planning involved.

Shao, who was unrepresented, said in mitigation that he never intended to hurt the victim. "I like her and I wouldn't harm her. I only used the knife to intimidate her... and the sleeping pills were to help her rest."

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt and housebreaking, Shao could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.

For abduction, he could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined and caned.