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SINGAPORE: A man who had displayed symptoms of depression was sentenced to a year’s probation on Wednesday (Jan 22) after he ill-treated his two sons, then two and seven years old, in 2020.
As part of the sentence, the 55-year-old offender must also attend psychiatric or psychological intervention, and comply with a medication regime to address his condition.
On April 20, 2020, he repeatedly slapped his younger son’s face when the toddler refused to stop crying.
The child was later found with injuries, including abrasions on his left cheek and bruises on his right forearm.
The next day, the man became angry with his older son for not answering his questions and used an aluminium hanger to strike the boy around 20 times.
In February 2024, the offender, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the boys’ identities, pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating the older boy.
A similar charge involving the younger victim was considered during the man’s sentencing.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Stacey Anne Fernandez said that the man was in his bedroom at around 9am on April 20, 2020, when he heard his younger son crying in the living room.
He went towards the child and picked him up, but the toddler still continued to cry.
The man then repeatedly slapped the child’s face, and his wife used her mobile phone to record the incident.
The next day, the man was in his bedroom when he heard his older son making noise in the living room.
The man later confronted the boy over the latter’s schoolwork involving some multiple-choice questions.
He slapped the boy’s face once after he did not answer his questions.
The man grew angrier when the child then played with some tins of canned food, and slapped the boy one more time.
The man also used a hanger to repeatedly strike the boy and stopped after the child burst into tears.
On April 23, 2020, his wife took both boys to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and its staff alerted the police.
A medical report dated July 21, 2020, stated that the older boy had bruises on his face, back, chest and limbs. - The Straits Times/ANN
