SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Unhappy with her son for misbehaving, a woman ordered the six-year-old boy to do a handstand before using a belt to hit him more than 100 times.
The following day, she made a false police report, claiming that her then boyfriend had abused the child.
The 32-year-old woman, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the boy’s identity, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Aug 17) to one count of abusing him.
One count of giving false information to a police officer will be considered during sentencing.
At the time of the offences in May 2020, the victim lived with his mother, his siblings, half-siblings and stepsiblings, as well as the mother’s then boyfriend.
On May 11, at around noon, the woman was in her bedroom with several of her children, including the victim, when she decided to punish the boy for misbehaving. Details of what the child did were not revealed.
Deputy Public Prosecutor David Menon said the mother ordered her son to perform a handstand.
She then brandished a cane and picked up a belt when the victim could not maintain the inverted pose.
She kicked and slapped the boy, and used the belt to hit him.
DPP Menon said: “The victim cried in pain, but the accused ignored his pleas for her to stop... In total, the accused hit the victim with a belt more than 100 times, using both the strap and the buckle.”
The woman struck her son all over his body and face, with her actions caught on a closed-circuit television camera.
The next day, she took the boy to Nanyang Neighbourhood Police Centre in Jurong and made a false report, claiming that her then boyfriend was the one who had hit the child.
Court documents did not disclose what spurred the woman to make this accusation.
The documents also did not state how the offences came to light. She was charged in court in 2022.
A doctor at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital examined the boy on May 13, 2020, and found that he had more than 50 bruises and abrasions.
DPP Menon said another doctor from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) also examined the mother and found that she had adjustment disorder with depressed mood.
However, the IMH doctor said there was no contributory link between her mental disorder and the offence.
The case has been adjourned to Nov 21.
For ill-treating a child, an offender can be jailed for up to eight years and fined up to $8,000.
