Father who attacked 11-year-old daughter over phone charger sentenced to jail

SINGAPORE: A man who punched, kicked and dragged his own daughter after losing his temper over a phone charger was on Wednesday (Jul 4) sentenced to nine months' jail.

The 34-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, had asked his daughter to pack his phone charger into his bag for work on Jul 24 last year.

The girl, then 11, did not do so. She did not hear her father's instructions as she had an ear infection.

The man became angry and scolded her. He first threw an empty plastic bottle at the girl's leg, before using both hands to push her onto the floor in a sitting position.

While the girl was on the floor, her father kicked and punched her back and thigh multiple times, court documents revealed.

He also grabbed the girl by her hair, pulled her up and threw her onto a bed, before dragging her off the bed by her legs, causing her head to hit the edge of the bed frame.

The man then dragged his daughter over a distance of about 5m and kicked her a few more times. He shook her before asking her to leave the house. The entire assault lasted for about half an hour.

GIRL HOSPITALISED FOR FIVE DAYS

The victim went to a neighbour's house where she asked to use the phone to contact her grandfather, who then called the police.

The girl had to be hospitalised for five days at the paediatric ward at National University Hospital.

Her injuries included a greenish hematoma or swelling from a blood clot in her arm, and haemorrhage of blood between her scalp and skull on the back of her head.

District Judge Eddy Tham sentenced the man to nine months' jail, noting that this was not the first time he had physically assaulted his daughter.

The man had shown "a reckless propensity for violence" and "betrayed the intimate relationship of a parent and a child", he said. 

"Instead, you punched and kicked her multiple times and dragged her by the hair. I shudder to think of the impact on her body," he said. "The court has taken a strong position that violence by parents and caregivers ... will be faced with the full brunt of the law."

For ill-treating his daughter, the man could have been jailed for up to four years and fined up to S$4,000.