Man admits making 11-year-old daughter overdose on pills after argument with wife

SINGAPORE: Agitated by an argument with his wife, a man made his 11-year-old daughter overdose on sleeping pills, causing her to be hospitalised for more than a month.

He later told his daughter to lie to the police that she took the pills herself because she wanted to commit suicide, and she complied.

The 40-year-old man pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Nov 11) to three charges of ill-treating a child in his custody, intentionally perverting the course of justice and using insulting words on the police. Another three charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

All parties cannot be named in this case, due to gag orders protecting the identity of the victim.

The court heard that the man was living separately from his wife at the time of the offences in April 2018, due to ongoing marital disputes.

He had custody of the victim, who lived with him. On the evening of Apr 7, 2018, the victim was feeling unwell and asked her mother to pick her up and take her to the doctor.

As her mother did not want to see the accused, she asked her daughter to take a cab to her flat instead. Later that evening, the accused called his wife and quarrelled with her over the phone.

In the early hours of Apr 8, 2018, the man called his daughter into his bedroom and instructed her to retrieve a bottle of sleeping pills that had been prescribed to the victim's grandmother.

Agitated after the earlier argument, the man instructed his daughter to take the pills, which contained amitriptyline, a substance listed as a poison in the Poisons Act.

The girl felt overwhelmed and took six pills, before going to the playground outside as her father instructed. He told the victim he wanted to show her mother that their marital disputes had caused the victim to suffer stress, and that her mother was "at fault for not properly taking care of her own child".

The man instructed his daughter to take several more pills, and she complied. She felt weak and sleepy afterwards and fainted. 

Her father took her to his wife's residence, calling 995 for help on the way. When they reached the flat, the victim's mother opened the door to see her daughter lying on the floor. Her husband told her it would be her fault if anything happened to the victim.

The girl was taken to hospital soon after and diagnosed as suffering from an amitriptyline overdose. She was found to be in "an altered mental state" and was drowsy and did not speak.

HE TOLD HER TO LIE TO POLICE

She was warded for more than a month. When the accused visited his daughter in the hospital, he instructed her to give false information to the police.

He told her to tell anyone who asked her about what happened that she had taken the pills herself to commit suicide.

The police investigated the girl for an offence of attempted suicide based on the events of Apr 8, 2018, and took a statement from her while her father was next to her.

She told the police officer that she had taken the pills voluntarily because she felt that no one in her family cared for her, and said she intended to kill herself.

She added that she was apologetic for troubling so many people. The police later told her that no further action would be taken against her, and her father's crimes were uncovered only when the victim told social workers about the incident in August 2018.

The man also pleaded guilty to cursing at police officers in January last year when they asked him for his NRIC card while attending to a call about men "taking some rolled up substance".

The offender, who was originally set for a trial, will return to court for mitigation and sentencing next month.

For ill-treating a child in his care, he could be jailed for up to four years, fined up to S$4,000, or both. For perverting the course of justice, he could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both. For insulting a public servant, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.