IT WAS a marriage arranged in India to give Madam Baljeet Kaur Darshan Singh, 46, a life companion following her father's death two years ago. The union with the Indian national 20 years her junior was rosy at first, but her husband's true intentions surfaced in September, barely three months after he moved here from Punjab.

Sukhbeer Singh started using his wife's ATM card to withdraw money from her account without her consent. He memorised the Personal Identification Number he had seen her use and, by the time of his arrest, had helped himself to $1,200 through a few withdrawals.

He pleaded guilty and was yesterday jailed for five months. A heartbroken Madam Baljeet gave yesterday's court hearing a miss. They have not spoken since his arrest last month, she told The Straits Times.

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