He got busted while visiting his second wife, who had given birth at the hospital where his first wife worked.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to commit bigamy with his second wife, and another of falsely declaring in an application for permanent residence that he did not have any other marriages.

A third charge of falsely stating in a visit pass application that he did not have past or other marriages was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The court heard that Vaithialingam married his first wife, a Singaporean woman now aged 55, in India in 2007.

In 2011, Vaithialingam came to Singapore to join his first wife and began working here. Through his job, he met his second wife, Singaporean Salmah Bee Abdul Razak, as she was his colleague. She is now 43.

In June 2022, Vaithialingam and Salmah conspired to get married. Vaithialingam initiated this as he wanted to have a child and promised Salmah that he would get a divorce from his first wife after marrying Salmah.

Vaithialingam and Salmah entered into a Muslim marriage in August 2022. It was registered by a religious leader in Nagore, India. This marriage remains in force and was not dissolved, said the prosecution.

At the time they got married, the couple knew that Vaithialingam’s first wife was alive and that his first marriage was valid.

Vaithialingam continued staying with his first wife after he and Salmah returned to Singapore, but continued to meet Salmah.

Vaithialingam went to visit her in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which was the workplace of his first wife.

His first wife saw Vaithialingam coming out of the hospital’s delivery suite, which she knew was not open for guest visitation.

She confronted him, and Vaithialingam told her about his second marriage and the birth of his child.

On Jun 12, 2024, Vaithialingam submitted a form to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to apply for permanent resident status for himself as the spouse of a Singapore citizen.

His first wife acted as the local sponsor. In the form, Vaithialingam falsely stated that he did not have any other marriages, including customary marriages.

SECOND WIFE REPORTS HIM

In July 2024, Salmah told the Ministry of Manpower that she was married to Vaithialingam while he was still married to another woman.

The case was referred to ICA, as Vaithialingam had been issued a long-term visit pass that was sponsored by his first wife.

The case was then referred to the police for investigations into the bigamy offence.

The offence of bigamy carries a mandatory jail term not exceeding seven years and a discretionary fine not exceeding S$10,000 (US$7,760).

The case was handled by a deputy public prosecutor and a prosecutor from ICA.

The deputy public prosecutor sought two to three months’ jail for the bigamy offence, saying that Vaithialingam had deceived both of his wives.

He dishonestly concealed the second marriage from the first wife, who found out about it by “pure chance” when she saw him at the hospital.

He added that the period of offending was “moderately long”, with Vaithialingam concealing the second marriage from his first wife for more than a year before he was caught red-handed at the hospital.

Vaithialingam’s bigamous marriage remained at the date of his guilty plea, more than three years after he and Salmah got married.

The authorities “fortuitously” discovered the case because of his false statements in his applications to the ICA, said the prosecutor.