Mother gets jail for slapping, stepping on and kicking 7-year-old son

SINGAPORE: A mother was sentenced to nine months' jail on Monday (Jan 26) for slapping, stepping on and kicking her seven-year-old son.

The woman, now 31, cannot be named to protect the identities of her children, who live with her and remain under her care.

She pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a child. Two other charges of voluntarily causing hurt were considered in sentencing.

She indicated that she will appeal against her jail term, after her lawyer argued unsuccessfully for probation or a high fine.

The assault happened in 2022 and was captured on closed-circuit television footage. The woman's husband reported it to the police in 2024.

The court heard that on Nov 21, 2022, the husband and wife had an argument at home after the woman used abusive language towards their son.

After that, the man went to pray in the living room. The woman stood in the hallway while talking on the phone. Their son was walking around the living room.

The woman started scolding the boy and pointing at him. She then walked towards him and slapped his face, and the boy stumbled backwards.

The woman "aggressively" advanced towards the boy, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the floor behind the sofa, the prosecutor said.

As he lay on the floor, she stepped on his leg and kicked his body while continuing to scold and point at him.

Hearing the commotion, the boy's father ran over to stop the mother. A scuffle ensued between the couple, with their maid intervening.

Defence lawyer A Rajandran told the court that the couple were now in the midst of a divorce, and the woman was parenting their children as a single mother.

He said that the incident was a one-off, there had been no further acts of violence by the woman against her children, and her case had been assessed not to have child protective concerns.

He also said the children's father had not seen them since 2024.

"I urge your honour not to disrupt the stable environment provided by the mother for her children," said Mr Rajandran as he argued against imprisonment.

He also said his client should not be made an "example" and "a scapegoat just because of the public concern over Megan (Khung)".

He was referring to the five-year-old victim in a fatal child abuse case that was the subject of a government review.

Mr Rajandran also asserted that the prosecution had exaggerated the facts and made "somewhat lame" arguments in his client's case.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana said that even if they disagreed, it was improper to refer to the prosecution's arguments as "lame", and that this was the first time she had heard such a statement in court.

She said that the prosecution's description of the incident in its arguments was what was observed from the CCTV footage, and that there was no provocation by the victim.

"The child was simply playing in the living room and had gone to the kitchen to pick up a fan, while the accused was engrossed in a conversation on the phone," Ms Boppana said.

"While the child was walking back to the couch, the accused proceeded to slap him forcefully.

"The child was not even looking at the accused, nor had he said anything to her, prior to her commencing her attack on him. The child winces and clasps his face immediately in pain."

She continued: "Even after the child starts to back away from the accused, she follows after him and kicks him when he is on the ground.

"The child is heard crying and tries to turn away from the accused, but she proceeds to kick him twice more, as the child continues to wail in pain and rubs his eyes as he cries."

Ms Boppana also argued that it was a neutral factor that there was no medical evidence of injuries, since the boy was not given medical attention after the incident.

"The objective evidence in the form of (CCTV) footage readily shows the degree of force used by the accused, as well as the extent of pain the child would reasonably have suffered because of such force," she said.

Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh said there was a need for deterrence and agreed with the prosecution's proposed jail term.

"Although this incident happened a few years ago, you have to face what you did and face a punishment which in my view is just," he told the woman.

He said he hoped that she and other parents remember that they must not abuse their children even if it is in the guise of discipline.

The mother could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$6,300) or received both penalties for ill-treating a child.