SINGAPORE'S highest court has upped a jilted boyfriend's jail term for pushing his ex-girlfriend onto the MRT tracks and sent a strong message that offenders who commit such violent and dangerous acts will be severely punished.

Explaining why Kwong Kok Hing will now serve a three-year jail term instead of just one, Justice V.K. Rajah said in a written judgment on Monday that an 'unambiguous and robust message' must be sent out that similar perpetrators will be dealt with 'firmly and properly'.

In Sept 2006, Kwong, 26, shoved his ex-girlfriend Jenny Low, also 26, off the platform of the Clementi MRT station onto the tracks just as a train was pulling in.

Ms Low had ended their turbulent two-year relationship a few days earlier, but Kwong wanted to patch up.

The quick-thinking woman escaped death by dashing to the side of the tracks a split second before the train sped past her.

The nail-biting episode was captured on a CCTV camera and replayed in court when Kwong pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter in May last year. Kwong, who was an Asean scholar, was initially given a one-year jail term.

He was released from prison on the day of the sentencing because he had spent eight months in custody and was given one-third remission for good behaviour.

The Singapore permanent resident returned to Malaysia shortly after his release. When the prosecution appealed for a stiffer punishment, Kwong did not turn up in court on Nov 13 last year.

The Court of Appeal, which also comprised Justices Andrew Phang and Tan Lee Meng, then increased his jail term to three years. Kwong flew in from Malaysia on Dec 3 to continue serving his jail term.

Justice Rajah said pushing a person into the path of an oncoming train is arguably one of the worst conceivable conduct for an attempted killing. Such an act is almost certain to kill or maim and a severe sentence was warranted.

'In this case, there is plainly a need to send out a clear message to the public that it is wholly unacceptable to commit similar violent and dangerous acts, regardless of whether they are premeditated, rash or impulsive,' he said.

Citing Land Transport Authority figures, the judge said the MRT plays a major role in the lives of many Singapore commuters - average daily ridership numbered 1.435 million last year.

Justice Rajah said the recent spate of serious and fatal incidents at above-ground MRT stations has 'left its mark on the train commuter's psyche', pointing to widespread calls from the public for platform screen doors to be installed.

But before these doors are installed at all stations by 2012, he said there is a perception among some that 'danger continues to lurk on every exposed train platform'.

'Whether a person intends to kill or not, the act of pushing a helpless person off a train platform and onto the tracks is an act so despicable and inherently dangerous that it must be unequivocally censured by the courts so as to deter others from even contemplating carrying out similar acts, let alone actually committing them.'