Man on trial for attacking then-girlfriend, biting her finger and fracturing it

The alleged victim described the alleged attack at the condominium unit they shared, where her then-boyfriend picked her up by the hair.

Philipp Bonkatz leaving the State Courts on Nov 3, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)

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SINGAPORE: A 38-year-old man went on trial on Tuesday (Nov 3) over an alleged attack on his then-girlfriend that landed her in hospital with a fractured finger.

Philipp Bonkatz, a German national, was initially given time to consider a fresh offer to plead guilty but ultimately chose to claim trial.

He is contesting three charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, wrongful confinement and voluntarily causing hurt.

The incident allegedly occurred around 3am on Mar 2, 2024, at a condominium unit in The Shore Residences in Marine Parade. The then-couple shared the apartment.

COMPLAINANT DESCRIBES RELATIONSHIP

The complainant, Ms Chin Kah Yan, took the stand as the prosecution's first witness and described how she met Bonkatz.

She said she was having drinks with a friend in March or April 2023 when her friend saw Bonkatz and shouted: "Oh, a Viking! A Viking!" The court heard evidence Bonkatz is over 2m tall.

Ms Chin later became friends with Bonkatz, who began turning up for events she organised.

They first went out together on National Day in August 2023 and she moved into his apartment in October that year.

That same month, Bonkatz wrote an email to his then-employer, Lufthansa, requesting that Ms Chin be registered as his common-law spouse.

Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang why she decided to move in with him, Ms Chin said she was already looking for a place to rent.

She said Bonkatz suggested that she move in with him, and she agreed.

Ms Chin testified that Bonkatz began being violent to her in December 2023, first in Tahiti, then New Zealand and Australia.

They went for couples' therapy and she began staying with her parents again on some days, reducing the amount of time she stayed over with Bonkatz.

She said he first hit her in Singapore in January 2024. She then shifted half her things back to her parents' place but would still go over to his home sometimes.

Before Bonkatz hit her, Ms Chin said she thought their relationship was "almost perfect".

"Because he appeared to be very kind, very gentlemanly and he had a lot of social friends," she said.

"But I think after December I quickly realised a lot of it was just a facade. He could pretend to be whoever you wanted him to be ... but behind closed doors, I realised he was incredibly demeaning and violent even ... and I found that out the hard way."

Bonkatz kept his eyes lowered without much expression while Ms Chin testified. He was separated from her by a folding panel in front of the dock that the court implemented as a shielding measure for Ms Chin, whom the prosecutor said was afraid of him.

There is no gag order on her identity.

Describing the incident that occurred on Mar 2, 2024, Ms Chin said she was at home working on her laptop and asked Bonkatz to come home.

When he entered the apartment between 2am and 3am, he was "a bit annoyed at me already because I didn't greet him", said Ms Chin.

She said he sounded very irritated and asked what some paper was doing on the floor. She guessed that the wind must have blown them to the floor since she left the balcony door open the air the place.

Ms Chin said Bonkatz threw a piece of paper at her, annoying her. She then threw the paper back at him.

After this, she said he pushed her so she fell on her buttocks.

He then retrieved a bottle from the fridge and started drinking from it.

Ms Chin said she was angry and used an expletive, asking Bonkatz how he could do this and pushed him back in his torso area.

HE PULLED ME UP: COMPLAINANT

"In response, he coughed. He got visibly very enraged and he pulled me up. I was kind of having a low bun or low ponytail, he grabs me by the hair and pulls me up almost 42cm off the ground, because that is our height difference, and he pulls me so I'm face to face with him," said Ms Chin, who is 1.59m tall.

She said she felt pain in her scalp.

After this, she asked Bonkatz to let her go and grabbed onto his "man bun" with her hands. They struggled and fell to the floor together.

Around this point, court proceedings were interrupted as Bonkatz had been spotted using his phone in the dock.

Asked by District Judge Shen Wanqin if he had recorded anything, Bonkatz said he was "typing messages". She told him to refrain from using his phone during court proceedings and moved on.

Ms Chin said she was in a lot of pain and terror while Bonkatz lifted her by the hair because she was dangling in the air "for what feels like a very long time".

"And this was supposed to be my partner at that point, so I was feeling very distraught ... because of the romantic expectations that a partner should protect and love you and not abuse you," she said.

She said she felt terrified because Bonkatz was a lot bigger than her. She said she had previously made a formal police report for other alleged occasions of abuse.

"He had used his much bigger physical stature to intimidate me, to pin me down, prevent me from leaving, attack me, sucker punch me," she said.

In the struggle, she said Bonkatz bit her pinky finger.

She was later hospitalised with a fractured finger.

The alleged victim testified for over an hour before the hearing was adjourned until Wednesday. She did not get to the portions in the charges where Bonkatz allegedly confined her in the balcony, or lifted her up by her crotch and jaw before throwing her on the ground.

The hearing began late, at 4.30pm, since Bonkatz had been deliberating over whether or not to plead guilty.

Ms Chin is expected to resume giving evidence on Wednesday.

If convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Bonkatz could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.

If convicted of wrongful confinement, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.

If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,909), or both.

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据称受害者描述了在他们合住的公寓单元内发生的袭击事件，当时她的男友揪着她的头发把她提了起来。

2026年11月3日，菲利普·邦卡茨离开州法院。（图片：CNA/Alyssa Tan）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：一名38岁男子于周二（11月3日）受审，他被控袭击当时的女友，导致其手指骨折入院治疗。

德国公民菲利普·邦卡茨最初被给予时间考虑重新认罪的提议，但他最终选择坚持审判。

他否认了三项指控，分别是故意造成严重伤害、非法拘禁和故意伤害。

据称，该事件发生在2024年3月2日凌晨3点左右，地点位于马林百列海滨公寓（The Shore Residences）的一间公寓内。当时这对情侣合租这套公寓。

投诉人描述关系

原告陈嘉燕女士作为控方第一位证人出庭作证，描述了她与邦卡茨相识的经过。

她说，2023 年 3 月或 4 月，她和朋友一起喝酒时，她的朋友看到​​了邦卡茨，并大喊：“哦，维京人！维京人！”法庭听取了证据，证明邦卡茨身高超过 2 米。

后来，陈女士与邦卡茨成为了朋友，邦卡茨开始参加她组织的活动。

他们于 2023 年 8 月国庆节首次约会，同年 10 月她搬进了他的公寓。

同月，邦卡茨给他当时的雇主汉莎航空公司写了一封电子邮件，要求将秦女士登记为他的同居伴侣。

当副检察官邓银航问及她为何决定搬去和他同住时，陈女士表示她当时已经在找房子租了。

她说，邦卡茨建议她搬去和他一起住，她同意了。

Chin女士作证称，Bonkatz从2023年12月开始对她施暴，先是在塔希提岛，然后是新西兰和澳大利亚。

他们接受了夫妻治疗，她开始时不时地回到父母家住，减少了在邦卡茨家过夜的时间。

她说，他第一次打她是在 2024 年 1 月在新加坡。之后，她把一半的东西搬回了父母家，但有时还是会去他家。

在邦卡茨打她之前，秦女士说她认为他们的关系“几乎完美”。

“因为他看起来非常和善，非常有绅士风度，而且有很多社交朋友，”她说。

“但我觉得12月之后我很快意识到，很多事情都只是伪装。他可以假装成你想让他成为的任何人……但在私底下，我发现他极其贬低人格，甚至有暴力倾向……我是付出了惨痛的代价才明白这一点的。”

在陈女士作证期间，邦卡茨始终低着头，面无表情。法庭在被告席前设置了一块折叠隔板，将他与陈女士隔开，以保护陈女士的安全。检察官称陈女士害怕邦卡茨。

她的身份没有被禁止公开。

描述 2024 年 3 月 2 日发生的事件时，陈女士说，当时她正在家里用笔记本电脑工作，并请邦卡茨回家。

秦女士说，当他凌晨2点到3点之间进入公寓时，“他已经有点生我的气了，因为我没有跟他打招呼。”

她说他听起来很恼火，问地上怎么会有纸片。她猜想一定是风把纸片吹到地上了，因为她离开时阳台门开着，让空气流通。

秦女士说，邦卡茨朝她扔了一张纸，这让她很生气。然后她把纸扔了回去。

之后，她说他推了她一把，导致她摔倒在地，屁股着地。

然后他从冰箱里拿出一个瓶子，开始喝起来。

陈女士说她很生气，骂了一句脏话，问邦卡茨怎么能这样做，并推了他一把，击中了他的躯干部位。

他把我拉了起来：投诉人

“他咳嗽了一声作为回应。他明显非常生气，把我拽了起来。我当时扎着一个低髻或低马尾，他抓住我的头发，把我拽离地面将近42厘米，因为我们身高相差42厘米，他把我拽起来，让我和他面对面，”身高1.59米的陈女士说道。

她说她头皮疼。

之后，她求邦卡茨放开她，并用手抓住他的发髻。两人挣扎着，一起摔倒在地。

就在这时，庭审被迫中断，因为有人发现邦卡茨在被告席上使用手机。

当地区法官沈婉琴询问邦卡茨是否录音时，邦卡茨回答说他当时正在“打字”。法官命令他在庭审期间不得使用手机，然后继续审理案件。

秦女士说，邦卡茨揪着她的头发把她提起来时，她感到非常痛苦和恐惧，因为她被吊在空中“感觉过了很久”。

“当时他本该是我的伴侣，所以我感到非常沮丧……因为浪漫的爱情期望是伴侣应该保护和爱你，而不是虐待你，”她说。

她说她感到很害怕，因为邦卡茨比她高大得多。她还说，之前她曾就其他几起涉嫌虐待事件正式向警方报案。

“他利用自己高大的体型恐吓我，把我按倒在地，阻止我离开，攻击我，偷袭我，”她说。

她说，在搏斗中，邦卡茨咬了她的小指。

她后来因手指骨折住院治疗。

据称受害人作证超过一个小时后，听证会休庭至周三。她没有机会陈述指控中关于邦卡茨将她限制在阳台上，或抓住她的下体和下巴将她提起来再扔到地上的部分。

听证会开始得比较晚，下午 4 点 30 分才开始，因为 Bonkatz 一直在考虑是否认罪。

预计陈女士将于周三继续作证。

如果被判犯有故意造成严重伤害罪，邦卡茨可能被判处最高 10 年监禁，并处罚款或鞭刑。

如果非法拘禁罪名成立，他可能被判处最高三年监禁、罚款或两者并罚。

如果被判犯有故意伤害罪，他可能被判处最高三年监禁，罚款最高可达 5,000 新元（3,909 美元），或两者并罚。

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