Man who married maid in Batam jailed for bigamy
The pair got married even though the man's first wife was still alive.
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SINGAPORE: Although he was already married, a man began dating a domestic helper he was introduced to and later got married to her in Batam.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) caught wind of the bigamy and flagged the case to the police, who arrested both the man and the maid.
Low Kok Peng, a 61-year-old Singaporean man, was sentenced to two months' jail on Friday (Apr 24). He pleaded guilty to one charge of bigamy under the Women's Charter.
His co-accused, 50-year-old Indonesian woman Komariah, was supposed to plead guilty on Friday but it did not go through after she claimed she did not know Low was married until the investigations.
THE CASE
The court heard that Low married his wife, a Singaporean woman now aged 55, in 1992.
The marriage remains in force and they have a daughter.
In 2016, some 24 years into his marriage, Low was introduced to Komariah by a friend.
At the time, she was working in Singapore as a domestic helper and was on a work permit.
Low began a romantic relationship with Komariah. In 2024, they went to Batam, Indonesia, and entered into a Muslim marriage solemnised by a religious leader.
At the time they got married, Low knew that his first wife was still alive and his marriage with her had not been dissolved.
Komariah allegedly did not get permission from the controller of work passes to marry Low. This was a breach of the conditions of her work pass.
Low's first wife did not know about the second marriage, which has not been annulled to this day.
They returned to Singapore and Low continued living with his first wife.
A police report was lodged in late January this year after MOM submitted information about a case of suspected bigamy.
The prosecution sought two to three months' jail, saying deterrence was the dominant sentencing consideration.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said bigamy often leads to serious consequences, even if this did not happen in this case.
"PROTRACTED DECEPTION"
He said Low had practised "protracted deception" on his first wife. The offence was also premeditated in order to avoid censure in Singapore.
The length of offending was also fairly long, said Mr Lim.
Low said nothing in mitigation. He was unrepresented.
In response to Komariah's claim that she did not know Low was married at the time, Mr Lim said the prosecution's position is that she knew at all material times.
Her case was fixed for a pre-trial conference. On top of a mirroring charge for bigamy, she faces a second charge of flouting her work pass condition by marrying Low without approval.
The penalties for committing bigamy are a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to S$10,000.
CNA has contacted MOM for more information.
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