Daijiworld Media Network – Singapore

Singapore, Aug 24: An Indian man has been sentenced to three months and three weeks in jail in Singapore after secretly marrying a colleague while still being married to his first wife of 15 years.

The accused, 49-year-old Vaithialingam Muthukumar, was convicted of bigamy, a criminal offence in Singapore. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bigamy with his second wife and for falsely declaring in his permanent residence application that he had no other marriages, South China Morning Post reported.

Muthukumar married his first wife, a 55-year-old Singaporean woman, in India in 2007. After moving to Singapore in 2011, he began an affair with 43-year-old colleague Salmah Bee Abdul Razak, who was aware of his marriage but continued the relationship.

In August 2022, the two entered into a Muslim marriage in Nagore, India, which remains legally valid. Salmah later gave birth to a son on September 14, 2023. The affair was exposed when Muthukumar’s first wife, working at a hospital, saw him exiting the delivery suite and confronted him.

Despite the revelation, Muthukumar applied for permanent residence in June 2024, falsely declaring he had no other marriage. However, a month later, Salmah informed authorities about his dual marriages, leading to the rejection of his application.

Prosecutors said Muthukumar deceived both women—his first wife, who was unaware of his second marriage, and Salmah, who was misled into believing he would divorce his first wife.