Harjap Singh stopped his wife from calling the police
13:35, 02 Jun 2026
The row broke out after Singh went shopping at Costco (stock image)(Image: Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)
A husband who came home with a large quantity of butter after a midnight trip to Costco attacked his wife after she blamed him for buying too much.
Harjap Singh had been living with his wife and their young daughter at his mother-in-law’s home in Braunstone Town.
He got home at 1am with shopping from Costco, and was unpacking the butter in the kitchen when the row began.
He first scratched his wife, snatching the receipt out of her hands as she complained about all the butter. He then grabbed her around the throat and pushed her against the work surface.
During the attack, which happened while their toddler and her mother were asleep upstairs, he prevented her from calling the police, grabbed her and shook her, causing her to lose her balance and hurt herself.
Leicestershire Police arrived at the house about an hour after the row started and arrested him.
Singh, 35, was charged with intentional strangulation and common assault – both of which he denied. His wife gave evidence against him at a trial held at Leicester Magistrates’ Court in May, and he was found guilty.
Due to the seriousness of the offence, the case was sent to Leicester Crown Court, and he was sentenced on Tuesday, June 2.
Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting, said: “The defendant had been married for six years, and they had known each other for 16 years.
“It was a progressively worsening marriage with things coming to a head on Sunday, January 18.
“He got home at 1am. He came in with shopping from Costco, and he started to unload it and put a large amount of butter on the floor as he was unpacking.
“She saw this and was cross that he had bought so much butter. That led to an argument and him asking why he wasn’t appreciated.
“She asked why he had bought so much produce, and he grabbed the receipt away from her, causing a scratch.”
Mr Dunne described how Singh grabbed his wife around the neck with his right hand, breaking her gold chain and making it hard for her to breathe.
He pushed her back against the kitchen side and held her for about a minute before she managed to fight him off. She suffered bruising to her neck and a cut to her nose.
Singh left the house but then returned, grabbed his wife by her hoodie and shook her, causing her to lose her balance. She suffered scratches to her neck and chest in that attack.
He became aggressive again, but stopped when his wife threatened to wake her mother, who was still asleep upstairs. She tried to phone the police, but he stopped her. Her friend, who was in the house, phoned the police instead.
Mr Dunne said that after his release from police custody, Singh moved in with his mother in West Bromwich but breached his bail conditions by sending his wife a text message saying he was going to fetch his things.
Balraj Bhatia KC, representing Singh, now of Melbourne Close, West Bromwich, said his client had bought a large amount of butter because there was an offer at Costco.
He said: “He had been to Costco and there was an offer on for butter. He bought a large amount of butter, not thinking he’d be criticised.”
Commenting on why his client pleaded not guilty to intentional strangulation, causing a trial to take place, he said: “English is not his first language and ‘intentional’ has a different connotation in Hindi.”
He said the breach of his bail conditions – sending the message to his wife – was due to his not understanding his police bail conditions because he had heard them through an interpreter.
He said Singh was now working six night shifts each week and hadn’t seen his daughter since January.
Mr Bhatia said: “This was a difficult marriage. It takes two parties to create the sort of difficulties that have happened.
“He’s lost his good name and that is a source of punishment. He hasn’t seen his daughter since January and that is a great punishment to him.”
Recorder Claire MacLynn, sentencing Singh, told him: “Over what seems to be to me a trivial matter, you became aggressive and grabbed her neck, making it difficult for her to breathe.”
She said strangling anyone was dangerous, warning him that there were other allegations of previous domestic abuse from his wife that might be considered in a family court when he tries to re-establish contact with his daughter, who is three.
She said Singh was a “medium” risk of harm to his wife, their child and anyone else he is in a relationship with.
She sentenced Singh to 16 months’ custody, suspended for two years. He will have to do 200 hours of unpaid work and spend 20 days on programmes recommended by the Probation Service.
Recorder MacLynn also made a restraining order banning Singh from contacting his wife for the next 10 years.
