SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old man was charged on Friday (Sep 19) with repeatedly abusing a baby he was looking after by choking him, stepping on his face, pushing his head into a pail of water and hanging him on a hanger in a cupboard.
The Singaporean man cannot be named due to a gag order on his identity and the victim’s, but the case was classified as a domestic violence case. Their relationship was not specified.
He was given about 30 charges of child abuse, mostly at a flat in July and August 2024 when the baby was between nine and 11 months old.
While there was no indication how it came to light, the latest charge was in September 2024 at a void deck instead of the flat, a public place where bystanders may have seen it.
It is unclear at this early charging stage what happened to the baby.
WHAT HE IS ACCUSED OF
The man is accused of multiple actions including the following in July and August last year.
He allegedly pushed the child’s head forcefully, causing him to slam down onto the bed with great force.
According to charge sheets, he also hit the child’s face and body multiple times with a bolster, pulled his hair, grabbed his cheeks and stepped on his face.
He allegedly pushed the boy’s head into a pail of water for about six seconds, grabbed his hair and shook his head.
He is accused of choking the boy and lifting and slamming his head repeatedly onto a bed, suffocating him by pressing a pillow on his face for about 10 seconds and twisting his arms multiple times.
The boy was allegedly slapped multiple times, pinched, and kicked all over.
The accused allegedly lifted the boy, held him in the air by a hanger on the back of his shirt and dropped him onto a mattress on the ground.
He also allegedly forced a milk bottle with water into the baby’s mouth, and held him upside down before dropping him onto a mattress on the ground.
On one occasion, he allegedly put the baby in a cupboard and held the door closed for some time before taking him out and throwing him at least 2m onto a mattress.
He is accused of hanging the baby inside a cupboard by a hanger on the back of his singlet with the door closed for some time, then lifting him by his singlet and dropping him on a bed.
The man is also accused of forcefully hitting the baby’s stomach, pressing on his foot with a knee, punching his back and forcefully covering his face.
On one occasion, he allegedly held the baby up in the air by his neck for about 25 seconds and placed him against a pillar.
He is also accused of hitting the baby’s forehead and causing him to fall backward onto a table multiple times, and using the baby’s own arms to forcefully hit his legs.
One charge sheet details how he choked the baby five times in a single day.
He is also accused of grabbing the back of the baby’s neck and pressing his face down into the bed, pressing a knee into the child’s head for about 15 seconds.
The most recent offence allegedly occurred at about 1.40pm on Sep 16, 2024 at a void deck.
The man allegedly grabbed the 11-month-old boy’s hair forcefully, twisted both his arms, punched his face and caused him to fall over.
On that occasion, he is also accused of slamming the boy’s hands against a table, punching his buttocks and legs, shaking his head forcefully and dragging him along a table by his neck.
The accused is represented by Mr Gino Hardial Singh.
The case was adjourned for a pre-trial conference later this month.
For each charge of ill-treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act, he could be jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000, or both.
