SINGAPORE: The 53-year-old father was sentenced to two years in jail for chaining his 11-year-old son to a toilet fixture for hours at a time, and leaving him alone with some food and water, on June 14th, Friday.
The father was found guilty in the State Courts of three charges under the Children and Young Persons Act for mistreating his son in the form of punishment, who is now 13. Additionally, one count of criminal intimidation was considered during his sentencing.
The man, who works as a Grab driver is not identified to protect his son’s identity. The court understood that the man had gained custody of his son after divorcing his wife and he lived with his son.
Son Endured Chains, Beatings, And Isolation As Punishment
The father and son were at home on Nov 30, 2022, when the accused realized that his son had been texting his mother, even after telling him to cut off contact with her. As a result, the father angrily slapped the left side of the victim’s face, leaving him with a perforation in his left eardrum. The man then noticed a yellow rubber hose and proceeded to use it to hit his son on his upper arm, back, and left thigh, leaving visible bruises.
Later, The 11-year-old victim was admitted to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he and his mother reported the injuries. The man confessed to causing the injuries and disclosed that he had hit his son on previous occasions.
After the hospital visit, a medical report described injuries during a hospital visit, such as the tear in the boy’s eardrum, that matched what both he and his mother had told during the inquiry.
In further Investigations, It was revealed that the man had used a metal chain to hold back his son on three occasions in 2022, to punish him for lying, not doing his homework, or not keeping his promise regarding not contacting his mother. Also, he wrapped a metal chain around either the son’s ankle or wrist, looped it twice, and then fastened it to a metal bar near the basin in the toilet using a padlock. He even placed a rubber hose between the chain and the child’s wrist or ankle so that his son would not feel pain even if he tried to undo it. Before leaving the unit, he also placed 1 litre of water and food on a shelf for his son alone for two to five hours.
Legal Action Against Abusive Punishment Tactics
On Dec 4, 2022, A National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline staff member reported about the case to police. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jocelyn Teo highlighted that the maximum penalties for ill-treatment had been doubled on Jan 1, 2020, while submitting for a sentence of 28 to 31 months in jail.
The accused’s action of chaining his child to the bar had placed him “in a very dangerous perilous situation”, she added.
“If there had been an emergency, such as a fire, the child would not have been able to escape,” Ms Teo said.
The man’s lawyer, Mr Mansur Husain added that his client acknowledges his wrongdoing and proposed 12 to 15 months jail for his client. The lawyer called the prosecution’s advocated sentence “too much”, adding that his client’s sentence should not be doubled just because the maximum penalties had been doubled.
“Every case should be decided on facts. What parliament has done is give the court more flexibility. (This is not) to say that everything else should be doubled,” said Mr Mansur.
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with Mr Mansur’s statement that punishments should be based on the facts of the case. However, he said the punishment the victim received was harsh, cruel, and completely unnecessary.
He pointed out that the accused went too far in punishing his son and did things that were against the law. Additionally, he informed that the man could have been sent to jail for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$5,920), or both for mistreating a child.
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