Man jailed for biting, choking and tying up young son, wife later stabbed him in the chest

SINGAPORE: A man repeatedly ill-treated his son, biting him when he was five years old and restraining him with a bicycle cord when he vomited in a van a year later.

He also lifted the boy up, choked him and shook him while his hands were around the child's neck. The man's wife later stabbed him in the chest during a separate argument.

The 36-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, was given nine months' jail and fined S$4,500 on Tuesday (Aug 10).

He pleaded guilty to four charges including voluntarily causing hurt and ill-treating a child, with another five charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that the accused was married and had two sons with his wife.

On Nov 29, 2018, the couple took their sons to a polyclinic for vaccinations. While playing, the older son bit the younger son on his thigh.

When the accused heard about this, he was angry and decided to discipline his older son. He caned the five-year-old boy and bit him on his thigh, so he would feel "how painful it was to be bitten", the court heard.

On Dec 4, 2018, when the couple took their older son to a hospital for a planned visit, the medical staff admitted him over concerns of non-accidental injury.

The police were informed after a staff nurse observed the accused handling his son roughly by grabbing him, forcing him to lie down and holding down his legs.

The examining doctor saw injuries on the boy including lesions and bruises, and was given inconsistent accounts of how they were sustained.

On Mar 23, 2019, the accused was driving his van to Toh Guan estate with his wife and older son. On the way, the boy vomited in the van, creating a mess.

The accused got angry and began shouting and arguing with his wife. After parking at a service road, the accused collected some parcels while his wife cleaned up their son and the seat.

When he returned, the man helped to change the boy's clothes and clear up the vomit. However, he got increasingly angry with the boy, who was crying and shouting for his mother to pass him her phone to play with.

His mother was standing outside the van at the time. Shortly after, the accused picked his son up with one hand around the front of his neck and the other on his back.

He lifted him up completely, choking him, before placing him on the ground. He put both hands around the boy's neck and shook him, causing him pain and making the boy cry and scream.

The man then scolded his son and told him he hated him. A nearby resident saw what happened and called the police.

The accused used a bicycle cord with hooks to tie his son's hands together to restrain him in the van, before driving to Faber Walk. The boy struggled out of his restraints but dislodged a tooth in the process.

The police managed to identify the accused with the van's registration number provided by the eyewitness.

When the accused and his wife took their older son to hospital the next day, several injuries were found on him. These include: Six bruises over his forearm, a missing tooth and abrasions over his arms, neck and lip. The boy was six at the time of these offences.

He was admitted to hospital for a few days and later discharged into the care of his maternal grandmother.

BOY WAS LATER ASSESSED TO HAVE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY

He was placed in MINDSville after the incident and assessed to have global developmental delay. He was placed under the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children, and was initially aggressive and disruptive, but his behaviour improved with time, the court heard.

The accused also admitted to an unrelated road rage incident where he cursed at and pointed his middle finger at a bus driver.

On Jul 28, 2019, the man got into a quarrel with his wife when she accused him of having an affair.

As the argument escalated, the man threw a plastic chair towards his wife, but missed. Angered, the woman charged at him and bit his shoulder.

He retaliated by biting her arms and later called the police. His wife went to the kitchen, retrieved a knife and stabbed him once in his chest.

Police officers at the scene separated the couple and arrested them. They were seen at the hospital with various injuries including bite marks, bruises and a 3cm stab wound in the accused's chest.

The case for the man's wife is pending.