Woman given discharge amounting to acquittal for attempted murder of 9-year-old son

SINGAPORE: A woman was given a discharge amounting to acquittal earlier this month for a charge of attempted murder against her nine-year-old son in 2019, after the prosecution found no evidence that she intended to harm her children.

A gag order issued by the court forbids the publication of any information that may lead to the identification of the accused and her children.

She was originally charged with attempting to murder the boy between 6am and 10.33am on May 16, 2019.

She was accused of doing this by allowing manufactured gas to escape from the gas stove in a flat and causing gas to build up in the unit.

According to the original charge sheet, she allegedly did so with such knowledge and under such circumstances that if the boy had died, she would have been guilty of murder.

In response to CNA’s queries, an Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) spokesperson said on Monday (Jan 30) that the woman was on May 17, 2019 given a holding charge of attempted murder.

She had sent messages to relatives suggesting she was going to take her own life. Officers from the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived at her flat and discovered that the kitchen stove was on while the woman and her two children were asleep in the bedroom.

The officers woke them and they were taken to hospital. None of them sustained injuries or was hurt, said the AGC spokesperson.

After investigations concluded, the prosecution directed for a 24-month conditional warning to be issued to the woman for an offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress under the Protection From Harassment Act, as well as another offence of committing a negligent act endangering the life or personal safety of others.

“The prosecution took into consideration, amongst other factors, that the evidence did not indicate that the accused intended to cause harm to her children,” the AGC spokesperson added.

The woman was issued a conditional warning on Jan 31, 2020.

On Feb 4, 2020, she was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the holding charge of attempted murder. This meant she could be prosecuted for the same crime again if fresh evidence emerged.

On Jan 19 this year, this was converted to a discharge amounting to an acquittal, meaning the charge is withdrawn and cannot be brought again.

The AGC spokesperson said it was because she had complied with the terms of the conditional warning, including a safety plan set out by the Child Protection Service for the care and protection of her children.