Indian Man Jailed In Singapore For Secret Second Marriage

An Indian man has been sentenced to three months and three weeks in Singapore after he secretly married a colleague, despite being married to his first wife for 15 years. The accused, identified as 49-year-old Vaithialingam Muthukumar has been convicted of bigamy, which is a criminal offence in the Southeast Asian nation.

Muthukumar pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to commit bigamy with his second wife and falsely declaring in an application for permanent residence that he did not have any other marriages, according to a rreport in South China Morning Post.

Muthukumar got married to his first wife, a Singaporean woman, 55, in India in 2007. He started an affair with his second wife after coming to Singapore to join his first wife in 2011. 43-year-old Singaporean Salmah Bee Abdul Razak knew Muthukumar was already married, but went ahead with the romantic relationship.

Vaithialingam and Salmah conspired to get married after the former pushed for it, stating he wanted a child. He also promised Salmah that he would divorce his first wife after the marriage. In August 2022, the duo entered into a Muslin marriage, which was registered by a religious leader in Nagore, India. This marriage remains in force and was not dissolved.

"Muthukumar continued staying with his first wife after he and Salmah returned to Singapore, but he continued to meet Salmah. On September 14, 2023, Salmah gave birth to a son. Muthukumar was the child's father," the report highlighted.

His scheming was exposed when his first wife, who worked at the hospital, saw him coming out of the delivery suite, which she knew was not open for guests. After being confronted, Muthukumar told her about his second marriage and the birth of his child.

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'Deceived both wives'

Afterwards, Muthukumar applied for permanent resident status as the spouse of a Singapore citizen on June 12, 2024. In the legal forms, Muthukumar falsely declared that he had no other marriages. However, a month later, Salmah told the Ministry of Manpower that he was married to her and his first wife. His application was rejected in October.

The case soon reached the higher authorities, with the deputy public prosecutor stating that Muthukumar had deceived both of his wives. While the first wife was kept in the dark about the second marriage, Salmah was tricked into the marriage on the false pretext that Muthukumar would divorce the first wife.