- Illustrative photo.
SINGAPORE: The body of a newborn baby boy, whose parents were minors, was found buried in a garden, and on Wednesday (April 2), State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said the cause of his death could not be ascertained, before declaring an open verdict.
According to the Singapore Medical Association’s website, an “open verdict” means that the cause of death cannot be reasonably ascertained based on the evidence produced in an inquiry.
Following an inquiry into the infant’s death, the state coroner said that the child’s body had already decomposed when his remains were uncovered, and an autopsy could not determine if the baby was stillborn or alive when he was born.
However, State Coroner Nakhoda noted that according to the baby’s parents, he was stillborn.
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that the infant’s mother was just 15 years old when the baby’s 14-year-old father impregnated her.
In view of the ages of the parents when the pregnancy took place, the state coroner had imposed a gag order on their identities and that of the infant.
In February 2024, the father of the baby was handed 21 months of supervised probation for having sex with a minor and instigating his then girlfriend to bury their child.
The girl was given a conditional warning for her role in the case.
The teenagers were classmates in a secondary school and began a romantic relationship in May 2020.
The boy would have unprotected sex with the girl in his bedroom, as he found it difficult to buy condoms because of his age. The girl later found that she had become pregnant.
In January 2021, the couple made multiple attempts to abort the foetus on their own.
Their methods included inserting a clothes hanger into the girl’s body in an attempt to pull the foetus out, taking abortion pills, and having her abdomen punched and kneed by the boy.
In June 2021, the girl experienced labour pains and gave birth to their son alone in her bedroom, with the boy on a video call.
During the inquiry, the court heard that according to the girl, the baby was not moving or crying when he was born. The infant’s father confirmed this.
The girl wrapped the infant in newspaper and hid him in her cabinet.
Two days later, she buried the baby’s body in the garden of her home and would sit there to grieve from time to time.
The couple ended their relationship in March 2022.
A month later, the girl’s mother noticed that the teenager was exceptionally withdrawn and asked if anything was wrong.
The girl told her mother what had happened, and the police were alerted soon after. - The Straits Times/ANN
