SINGAPORE - A young man assaulted his fiancee's cousin as he believed that she had been spreading rumours about him and his fiancee's family.

Mohammed Hafian Suaily, 20, a Malaysian cleaner, kicked Ms Norhayati Mohammad Abas, 24, near her spine while she was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of the living room at a unit in Jalan Minyak, off Chin Swee Road, at about 4am on Feb 6 this year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Lu said he also grabbed Ms Norhayati's hair, asking her to wake up.

When she sat up, he kicked her near her left eye area once, causing her to have blurred vision and a bleeding nose.

He then slapped her and told her that if his fiancee did not return in an hour's time, she would "die in his hands''.

Hafian then left to look for his 18-year-old fiancee. All three were then living together.

Ms Norhayati washed up and went to seek help from her uncle in Ang Mo Kio. He called for an ambulance. She was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment, and given eight days' hospitalisation leave.

Among her injuries were bleeding in the left eye and multiple facial fractures.

On Tuesday (July 12), Hafian was sentenced to 12 months' jail and ordered to pay compensation of $688 to the victim after he pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt.

The court heard that he had been angry with Ms Norhayati for some time as he believed that she had been spreading rumours about him and his fiancee's family to their neighbours. But Ms Norhayati denied this.

He was drunk and had quarrelled with his fiancee at the void deck over the victim just before he assaulted her.

District Judge Low Wee Ping said what Hafian did was "very cruel''. He said Hafian caused so many injuries to the victim that until now, she has not fully recovered, especially her vision.

Hafian said he was very angry then, and had apologised to the victim. He was allowed to defer sentence until Aug 10.

He could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined or caned for causing grievous hurt.