Man given jail, caning for kicking stomach of 4-year-old stepdaughter, who later died

SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to nine years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Monday (May 9) for kicking the abdomen of his four-year-old stepdaughter, who later died.

Muhammad Salihin Ismail, 29, was convicted in March of voluntarily causing grievous hurt after a High Court judge acquitted him of murder. He had contested the capital charge at trial.

The assault took place on Sep 1, 2018, when Salihin pushed the girl, causing her to fall down, and kicked her twice in the abdomen while she lay on the floor.

This happened after the girl urinated on the floor instead of the toilet bowl. The court previously heard that she was being toilet-trained in preparation for school.

After the assault, the victim complained of stomach ache in the evening, lost her appetite and vomited periodically overnight. Salihin and the girl's mother applied ointment on her stomach.

They did not seek medical attention until she collapsed the next morning. She was then taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

An autopsy found that the girl died from blood within the peritoneal cavity due to blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

In March, Salihin was acquitted of murder after Justice Pang Khang Chau found that the prosecution did not prove that he intentionally inflicted injury on the victim.

The man had testified that he was reacting angrily when kicking the girl and "simply kicked what was in front of him, which happened to be the victim's abdomen", said the judge then.

"The accused's action when applying ointment on the victim's abdomen after she complained of stomach ache corroborates that the accused did not know where his second kick landed," he said.

"Thus, although the accused had kicked the victim intentionally, there was no intention to strike the part of the body where the injury was found and also no intention to strike with sufficient force to cause the kind of injury found to be present."

The prosecution has appealed against Salihin's acquittal on the murder charge and will also appeal against his sentence, the Attorney-General's Chambers said on Tuesday morning.

Two other charges of child abuse by Salihin against the same victim were considered for sentencing.

In 2017, he placed a showerhead with hot water flowing out of it on the girl's back for five to six seconds, causing scald marks. In 2018, he slammed the girl's head against the floor, causing bruising.

DELAYED SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION

Deputy Public Prosecutor Senthilkumaran Sabapathy sought 10 years' jail and caning, citing the young age and vulnerability of the victim, as well as the abuse of trust and authority involved in the offence.

Mr Sabapathy argued that Salihin's failure to seek medical help for more than 12 hours, until the victim lost consciousness and it was "far too late", was an additional aggravating factor.

Salihin delayed seeking medical attention out of self-preservation, argued the prosecutor, who noted the man's admissions during the trial that he also did not tell his wife about the incident with the girl.

If Salihin had been candid about his actions, it would have been apparent that the girl's stomach ache and vomiting were serious and that she needed care, argued the prosecutor. Instead, the victim "suffered a very slow and painful death".

He also argued that this was not an isolated incident. In 2017, when Salihin scalded the victim with hot water, this caused extensive peeling of her skin but no medical attention was sought, said the prosecutor.

Defence lawyer Suang Wijaya sought seven-and-a-half years' jail and caning, arguing that Salihin was genuinely remorseful and had cooperated with investigations.

He cited Salihin's young age of 25 when he committed the offence, and the fact that he had admitted the particulars of the incident to investigators at an early stage.

He also contended that there was insufficient evidence to prove Salihin knew the victim needed emergency medical care, and not enough evidence to infer that he prioritised self-preservation or showed blatant disregard for her welfare.

Justice Pang said that as a general principle, delay in seeking medical attention for the victim was not relevant as an aggravating factor.

This was because the offender's culpability should relate to the manner in which the offence was committed, and not what happened after, said the judge.

However, he accepted that in cases where a vulnerable victim was dependent on the offender for care and attention, such a delay might be a relevant factor.

Justice Pang said that he agreed with the defence that there was insufficient evidence to show deliberate delay on Salihin's part.

This was because the victim had no visible external injuries, and her discomfort and vomiting may not have sufficiently alerted Salihin that she had sustained serious injuries, said the judge.

The penalty for voluntarily causing grievous hurt is a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine or caning.