IPOH WIFE-BEATER apologizes: I don't expect anyone to understand

SINGAPORE - Calven Chik, 26, the man behind the shocking CCTV footage showing him beating up his young wife, has come forward to say he is sorry.

The admission was part of an exclusive interview given to Malaysian Digest, where he shared how the quarrels started, intimate details of their relationship including her infidelity, and that it's not the first time that he's abused her.

He admitted that he's hit her several times before, saying that he doesn't expect "anyone to understand it".

The case first made headlines when video footage of him violently throwing his wife, Amanda Fong, around and beating her went viral.

The clips, which took place in their branded good store, were posted by Fong, 19, on her Facebook page on Aug 30 and 31. She also posted horrifying pictures of the bruises and cuts she suffered from the alleged abuse.

"I know that there is no reason or justification for my actions and I cannot defend myself over this. It was something that I should not have done. I regret it," he said in the interview.

However, he said that their marriage was not always so bad.

He claims Fong's mother, Adelyn Yeoh, was the negative influence on his wife that eventually soured the relationship.

He said that when he first went to seek her permission to marry Fong, Yeoh rejected him. Subsequently, Yeoh made unreasonable demands and drove a wedge between the couple, he said.

Affair

Chik claims that somewhere in the middle of their relationship, he became suspicious of her activities and discovered that Fong was cheating on him.

He said that when he met Fong, her family was not well-off and she did not even have money to continue her studies.

However, one day she enrolled for a course at a local college, using money she claimed came from a sponsor from her mother's company.

Fong also soon started buying expensive clothes and handbags, all the while dining at expensive places.

Chik said when he questioned Fong about her new-found wealth, she said it came from an inheritance from her late grandfather that she was allowed to access only when she turned 18.

However, Chik soon became suspicious of the 'mysterious' phone calls she was receiving and weekly or fortnightly 'visits' to an unknown man.

He eventually found out that she was having an affair with an Ipoh-based Datuk, who was giving her money to fund her lifestyle.

Fong confessed to her infidelity, and threatened to kill herself, claiming that her life wasn't worth it, he said.

Clinically depressed

He said doctors at the Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta diagnosed Fong as being clinically depressed. He was also later diagnosed as suffering from mild depression and is currently under medication.

He claimed that Fong is prone to fits of rage, and the abuse doesn't just go one-way, with her physically lashing out at him as well. Once, Fong even chased him around their home with a knife and threatened to stab him, he said.

'Just trying to keep her in the store'

He said in the latest incident, he had only been trying to get her to remain in the store and not storm off after a minor argument.

Chik said Fong, with her episodes of depression and unpredictability, would sometimes disappear for hours after a fight.

Contrary to her claims that he was trying to harm their unborn child, Chik claims that it was the opposite. He was trying to keep mother and child both safe by keeping them in the store.

He added that he was trying to defend himself from his wife's attacks on him when he lashed out.

He admitted that he should not have reacted violently, but "just went out of control".

Ipoh's Welfare Department has since obtained an interim restraining order to protect Fong against her husband for alleged domestic violence.

The case is being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code after both husband and wife lodged police reports at the Sungai Senam police station here on Monday,

She is now living with her parents and had not seen her husband since the incident.

If found guilty, he can be jailed for up to one year and/or fined up to RM2,000 (S$799).

'All lies'

However, the very next day, Fong gave an interview refuting everything Chik has said.

She is denying the allegations that she had an affair, suffered from depression and had threatened to commit suicide during their marriage.

She dismissed his claims as "baseless" and told the reporter that she doesn't need to know what other allegations he has made about her.

"The videos showed everything. How he reacted, how abusive he was. The videos won't lie," she said.

She said it wasn't the first time her husband had hit her, and added that she has older scars on her hands and bite marks on her upper arm.

She said Digest that she has not yet made a decision on whether to seek a divorce or otherwise, as she is "not in the best frame of mind right now".

- AsiaOne