PETALING JAYA: A Singaporean mother was sentenced to 13 months’ jail by the island republic’s district court judge after she was found guilty of hitting her six-year-old son more than 100 times with a belt.
According to Channel News Asia, the woman who was sentenced today, had also punched the boy, forced him to perform a handstand in addition to kicking and slapping him.
It is learnt the Singaporean district court imposed a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.
Additionally, certain details in the case such as how many children the woman has was redacted from court documents.
During the previous court proceedings, footage of the beating was played in court as the public and media were told to leave.
However, cries of the boy were loud enough to be heard from outside the court premises.
Singapore district judge Carol Ling reportedly said the footage was “hard to watch” and that excessive force and violence, even in the name of discipline, cannot be tolerated.
During sentencing, Ling also highlighted that the beating was an isolated incident that did not result in permanent injuries and found the woman remorseful.
The woman pleaded guilty last year to one count under the Children and Young Persons Act of ill-treating a child in her care.
Additionally, the woman also faced a second charge for lying that it was her boyfriend who had beaten her son.
It is learnt at the time of the offence in 2020, the woman lived with her then-boyfriend, as well as her children and other relatives.
On the date of the offence, May 11,2020, the woman had punched her son for misbehaving and made him do a handstand, but he could not maintain the pose.
She subsequently struck him with a belt, using both the strap and buckle, for about 10 minutes, as well as kicked and slapped him.
Following the incident, the woman later took her son to a neighbourhood police centre and claimed that her boyfriend had beaten him instead.
A doctor found more than 50 bruises and abrasions on the boy following a medical checkup.
It was further reported that the woman was spotted at Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health and diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood.
Additionally the court also learnt that the mother’s relationship with her son is on the mend, as she is allowed access to the boy under the supervision of a child protection officer.
Ling also allowed the woman’s appeal to begin her sentence in September.
For ill-treating a child in her care, the woman could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (RM27,309) or both.
