Man jailed for repeatedly abusing girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter with slow mental development

SINGAPORE — Frustrated over missing the birth of his child when he had to get someone to look after his girlfriend's daughter, a young man lashed out at the three-year-old girl, punching her cheek and slapping her.

He had physically abused the girl — who suffers from slow mental development — on two other occasions before this.

On Friday (Dec 10), the 24-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to 10 months’ jail after earlier pleading guilty in a district court to ill-treating the victim under the Children and Young Persons Act.

Two other charges of voluntarily causing hurt to her were taken into consideration for sentencing.

He cannot be named due to a court gag order to protect the victim’s identity.

The court heard that he began living with his girlfriend, now aged 23, and the child in February 2019. He assumed the role of the girl’s caregiver and was aware of her condition, including her delayed speech development.

Court documents showed that in late December 2019 and January 2020, he first abused her by slapping her face. The girl’s mother was pregnant with his child at the time.

In the wee hours of Feb 22, 2020, the girl's mother went into labour and an ambulance was called to take her to the hospital.

As only one person was permitted to accompany her, he had to arrange for someone to babysit the victim before he could go to the hospital himself. He then decided to take the victim to her grandmother’s flat.

While on the way there, the girl started crying which exacerbated his frustration over missing his child’s birth. He then punched her cheek three times out of anger and slapped her, which made her stop crying.

After they got to her grandmother’s flat, he made his way to the hospital.

‘DADDY, MAMA’

Later that morning, the girl’s grandmother checked on her when she was asleep and discovered bruises on her face, along with other injuries on her body, hands and legs. She then called two other relatives about this.

When the victim woke up shortly afterwards, her grandmother questioned her about the injuries. She responded with: “Daddy, mama.”

The grandmother then lodged a police report at Woodlands West Neighbourhood Police Centre. She identified the accused as the person who could have caused the injuries, as her cousin had witnessed him physically assaulting the victim on the two earlier occasions.

Following this, the girl was removed from the accused and her mother’s custody. She stayed with a relative with measures put in place to ensure her safety and well-being whenever he visited her.

She was also examined at KK Women's and Children's Hospital where doctors observed that she had sustained injuries like a scar on her chin, multiple excoriations on her neck and thigh, and bruises below both eyes and on her cheek.

At both the victim’s and her mother’s request, she was placed back in their care on June 3, 2020.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng told the court: “A safety plan, including announced and unannounced home visits by the relevant authorities, was put in place to facilitate reintegration and to ensure the safety and well-being of the victim.”

The prosecutor sought 10 to 12 months’ jail, arguing that child abuse was a “societal evil that must be severely dealt with”, while the accused pleaded for a light sentence through an interpreter.

He added that he works as a food delivery rider and now has a wife and three children to support, including the victim. He did not say whether his wife was the victim's mother.

District Judge Janet Wang asked if he would repeat his offences after being released, to which he promised not to. He also said he was prepared to attend counselling sessions to manage his anger.

In sentencing him, the judge said that the girl was “particularly vulnerable” due to her condition, which made it more difficult for her to articulate the physical assaults.

The injuries were “fortuitously” not serious, the judge added. “But given the disparity in your physiques and the force inflicted by your blows, the pain and suffering would have been tremendous.

“I note from the doctor’s report that psychological harm is not apparent, but this cannot be ruled out because she cannot articulate her feelings and emotions.”

For ill-treatment of a child, the accused could have been jailed for up to eight years or fined up to S$8,000, or punished with both.