SINGAPORE – A construction worker who paid a surprise visit to a block of flats to check on his girlfriend, a foreign domestic worker, became angered when he spotted her with another man.

Hossain Mohammad Azim waited for the other man to leave, then ambushed the woman outside her employer’s home and led her to a secluded stairwell where he sexually assaulted her.

On May 6, Azim, 34, was sentenced to 12 years 10 months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

The Bangladeshi national had earlier been convicted of three charges by a High Court judge on March 4.

He had claimed trial to one count of aggravated sexual assault by penetration and one count of criminal intimidation in relation to the attack on the victim, who was then 33 years old, on Dec 14, 2021.

After he was found guilty of the two charges, he pleaded guilty to a third charge of perverting the course of justice.

Azim and the victim began a romantic relationship in 2018.

They “exchanged vows” in a church, although this was not a formal solemnisation of marriage, and met on rest days for sex.

However, the woman began having sex with another man a few months before she was assaulted by Azim.

Azim found out about this relationship on Dec 8, 2021, after he ambushed her at the block and looked through her mobile phone.

On Dec 14, 2021, Azim arrived unannounced at the block, as he suspected that the woman was still cheating on him despite claiming to have broken off contact with the other man.

He spotted her with the other man at the stairwell next to the lift lobby.

The woman was unaware of his presence, and returned to her employer’s flat after the other man left.

While lying in wait for her to go out to buy lunch, he sent her text messages saying that he was at work.