SINGAPORE — A man who hid his marriage from his mistress and tied the knot with her abroad, while still legally married to his wife in Singapore, was sentenced to 24 weeks’ jail on Friday (Oct 1).

Yeo Sick Kong, 55, pleaded guilty in a district court to one count of bigamy — the act of entering into a marriage while still married to another person.

This offence under Section 494 of the Penal Code was repealed from Jan 1 last year onwards. It is now an offence under the Women’s Charter.

The court heard that Yeo and his wife — identified in court documents only as Madam Tan, a 44-year-old Singaporean — registered their marriage here in May 2005. They have a daughter who is now aged 15.

This was Yeo’s second marriage after he divorced his first spouse.

Shortly afterwards, Yeo befriended his lover in the course of his work in 2006. She was identified only as Mdm Ooi, a 47-year-old Malaysian.

They began a sexual relationship the next year.

Yeo told Mdm Ooi that he was divorced but showed her the divorce certificate from his first marriage, keeping silent about his marriage to Mdm Tan. He also did not tell his wife he was having an affair, the court further heard.

In early 2011, he proposed to Mdm Ooi, who accepted. In September that year, the pair registered their marriage in the East African island nation of Mauritius on his suggestion.

That same day, Mauritius issued an “attestation of celebration of marriage” in respect of this. The authenticity of the document has been confirmed by Mauritian authorities.

From 2011 to 2018, Yeo shuttled between Mdm Tan’s and Mdm Ooi’s homes. When questioned by either woman on where he had been, he would claim that he had an offshore project that required him to be physically present to supervise the works.

Mdm Tan lodged a police report here on May 2 last year, stating that she had discovered the Mauritian marriage certificate in her husband’s bag in October 2018. She added that she did not report it immediately to give her own marriage a chance at reconciliation.

Yeo filed for divorce from Mdm Tan in December 2018. An interim judgement was issued in October 2019 and proceedings are ongoing.

Court documents stated that Mdm Ooi is still currently Yeo’s romantic partner.

Those convicted of bigamy can be jailed for up to seven years and fined, both under the repealed Penal Code offence and the Women’s Charter offence.

Exceptions can be made if the accused’s spouse has been continually absent for seven years, or if the prior marriage was declared void by a court.