Husband secretly fed his wife steroids to 'fatten her up' and make her stay at home

A man has escaped jail after he secretly added steroids to his wife's food to make her put on weight and "keep her at home". Dalwara Singh slipped steroids into his wife's dinner, causing her to break out in spots and grow hair on her face. He was only caught out when the couple's teenage daughter heard him grinding a pestle and mortar in his bedroom. His now estranged wife then found the steroids hidden in a locked cupboard and called the police.

At Leicester Crown Court, Singh admitted administering a poison or noxious substance with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy. Giving Singh a suspended jail sentence, Judge Ebraham Mooncey said he was fortunate to escape prison. The judge said: "You may have been doing it to make her give up her job, gain weight and stay indoors and make her want you and rely on you. It was a well-planned exercise and you say you gave her the steroids at least four or five times. It's had a terrible effect on her, causing long-term emotional harm."



The couple had been married for 17 years and have a son and a daughter, aged 15 and 16. Caroline Bray, prosecuting, said Singh gave his wife the drugs to keep her at home. She told the court: "He wanted to stop her from going out for walks, because he wanted her to be at home to cook for him and look after the children. He said he didn't consider the side effects and intended to stop. These steroids have no listed benefits for women and can have permanent masculating effects, although they weren't administered long enough in this case."

David Martin-Sperry, in mitigation, said Singh was "deeply embarrassed and ashamed". He told the court: "It's a truly bizarre case. It was done surreptitiously, but it's different from administering strychnine or some such poison. He moved out of the family home, although continues to pay the bills, and now finds himself living alone with limited access to his children." Singh was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to attend a domestic abuse programme. He was also made the subject of a restraining order which bans contact with his estranged wife other than through solicitors or social services.