SINGAPORE – A woman who admitted to being hot-tempered was admonished in court for brandishing a knife during an argument with her husband while her young children were in the same flat.

Noting that conflicts are part and parcel of family life, District Judge Eddy Tham said Lu Ut Em, 33, needs to learn to control herself.

“We are not saying you cannot be angry. We are saying you should control yourself after being angry,” said the judge.

Cameras the couple installed in their Teck Whye flat caught the six-minute argument, which started at around 9am on Dec 2, 2023.

“It was shocking to see young children walking around while you were brandishing a knife. You don’t know the kind of effect psychologically it will have on them, to witness such acts at home,” said the judge.

Speaking through a translator in Vietnamese, Lu admitted she was hot-tempered and that her children were afraid during the incident.

The court heard it was not an isolated incident. A similar case of harassment took place in February 2024. The judge said he would arrange for a court counsellor to help the Vietnamese national find ways to manage and control her anger, and for counselling options for the couple.

Lu was on March 14 sentenced to three months’ jail and a fine of $2,000 after she pleaded guilty to one charge each of criminal intimidation and harassment.

The couple lived in the flat with their children, aged three and five. Lu’s husband’s mother and brother, and sister-in-law also resided at the same address during the incident.

In the footage played in court, Lu can be seen swinging a kitchen knife wildly in her husband Khwang Kai Ping’s direction during the heated argument. The 61-year-old walks away several times to defuse the situation.

That day, Lu’s mother-in-law tried repeatedly to get the younger woman to calm down. But Lu continued to wave the knife at her husband, and in one instance, uttered the word “bleeding” in Mandarin.

When asked in court what she meant by that, she said she had no idea why she said it.

The dispute in the living room played out in full view of the couple’s two children.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said the couple had started arguing as Lu was unhappy over some personal matters which were not revealed in court.

The video footage also shows Lu yelling at her brother-in-law and swinging the knife at him. The argument ended when Lu’s husband left the flat. His brother then called the police and Lu was arrested.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that Mr Khwang Kai Ping is 51 years old. This is incorrect. He is 61. We are sorry for the error.