Man accused of hitting 11-year-old girl with belt, slapping her face, woman charged with allowing it
Photo illustration of a child being caned. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: A man is accused of ill-treating an 11-year-old girl by slapping her face and hitting her arms and legs with a belt, leaving injuries on her body, while a woman is accused of allowing it.
The 32-year-old man and 34-year-old woman returned to court on Wednesday (Dec 21) to face their respective charges. Their cases were adjourned to January for further mentions.
Both cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim, that also extends to the accused's identities and the location of the incident.
The man was charged earlier this year with one count of ill-treating a child in his care under the Children and Young Persons Act.
He is accused of slapping the girl's face around Aug 24, 2020 in a flat. He also allegedly used a belt to hit her arms and legs approximately 20 times, causing the girl to sustain various physical injuries on her body.
The woman, who has custody of the girl, faces one charge of knowingly permitting the girl to be ill-treated by the man.
According to the charge sheet, she allowed the August incident to happen. She was "always present" when the man caned or hit the child, and did not intervene to stop him, causing the girl to sustain physical injuries, the charge stated.
If convicted, the pair can be jailed up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000, or both.
