A 35-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 21.5 years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane for culpable homicide involving his toddler. The court heard how the child was subjected to abuse until her death, after which her body was burned in a metal pot.
The man also pleaded guilty to several other charges, while his wife’s case is still pending.
Content Warning: This news article discusses a case of culpable homicide involving severe abuse and the tragic death of a 2.5-year-old child. Reader discretion is advised due to the distressing nature of the content.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED :
According to Channel News Asia, a 35-year-old Singaporean man has been sentenced to 21.5 years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane for his involvement in the death of his toddler, whose identity remains protected due to gag orders. The court has also shielded the identity of the man’s wife and the location of the crime.
While the court imposed gag orders to protect the identities of both the wife and the location of the crime, the judge emphasized that the victim’s first name, Umaisyah, should be made public.
This decision was made to ensure that Umaisyah is remembered by her name, allowing her to be identified as an individual rather than referred to merely as “the deceased” or “the victim” according to CNA report.
The man pleaded guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with three other charges, including rioting, ill-treatment of his stepson, and drug consumption.
Five additional charges will be considered during sentencing.
KILLED, BURNT & KEPT IN METAL POT
The court proceedings revealed that the man and his wife had four children together, including the victim, who was two-and-a-half years old at the time of her death in 2011.
Additionally, the wife had a daughter and a son from a previous marriage.
Tragically, the victim had been placed in foster care when she was just three to four months old, as her father was detained in a drug rehabilitation center and her mother was deemed unfit to care for her.
In June 2013, the girl was returned to her biological parents. However, this transition was not without difficulties, as Umaisyah had spent one-and-a-half years in foster care, making her unfamiliar with her parents, which often led to her crying, as explained by the prosecution during the court proceedings.
However, her return was marred by abuse from her parents, who also mistreated their other children. The court heard that the father physically abused the victim with items such as belts and hangers, punching her thigh and pinching her body, as per the reports.
The abuse escalated, and in March 2014, when the girl played with her feces after soiling her diaper, her mother slapped her and flicked her lips when she continued to cry.
It was revealed during the trial that when the young girl, Umaisyah, cried “despite being asked not to,” her mother responded by slapping her cheeks and “flicking her lips,” according to the prosecution.
Under the influence of methamphetamine, the father forcefully slapped her multiple times, causing her to gasp for air, with blood and liquid flowing from her mouth and nose.
The girl suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, resulting in a concussive brain seizure.
Despite the life-threatening nature of her injuries, neither parent sought medical help, fearing arrest for their actions and drug use. It was later revealed in court that medical intervention could potentially have saved the girl’s life.
DESTROYED EVIDENCE
To cover up their crime, the couple destroyed evidence, lied to authorities and family members about the victim’s whereabouts, and ultimately burned her body in a metal pot placed in the back of the accused’s lorry.
Years later, when the girl’s mother was incarcerated in 2019, her brother discovered the decomposed remains in a box under the kitchen stove, leading to the police being alerted.
According to the report, Umaisyah’s uncle, identified only as Z, had been cautioned against tampering with the box, with claims that it contained items from the accused’s lorry.
In 2017, when the Ministry of Education (MOE) inquired about why Umaisyah had not been registered for Primary 1, her mother falsely stated that her estranged husband had taken the child away.
Concurrently, the accused lied by asserting that his relatives were looking after Umaisyah in Malaysia.
As curiosity grew, Umaisyah’s uncle, Z, made an attempt to discard the box in 2017, deeming it dirty and infested with cockroach eggs. When Umaisyah’s mother learned of this, she had the box resealed and cautioned her brother against further interference.
However, following Umaisyah’s mother’s incarceration in 2019, Z decided to open the box and was met with a disturbing sight: a decomposed and wet lump. Subsequently, when friends of Umaisyah’s mother visited the flat after her sentencing for unrelated offenses, Z showed them the contents of the pot, which deeply unsettled them, leading them to report the matter to the police.
Tragically, Umaisyah’s remains were described by the prosecution as “charred beyond recognition.”
During the autopsy, only small bones and a loose tooth were discernible amidst the soot and debris. The absence of any facial features and the inability to identify her hands and feet added to the grim details of this heart-wrenching case.
SENTENCING
During the court proceedings, Justice Aedit Abdullah questioned the delay in the case, given that the accused was arrested in 2018.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Woon Kwong explained that extensive investigations were needed to reconstruct the events surrounding the victim’s death.
The prosecution sought a 20.5 to 21.5-year jail term and 18 strokes of the cane. They argued that the accused was attempting to shift blame to his wife, although both had agreed to dispose of their daughter’s body.
The accused, represented by three sets of lawyers, claimed he wasn’t shifting blame but rather explaining what occurred. He maintained that the killing was not premeditated and that his actions amounted to slapping his daughter two or three times, leading to her injury.
In sentencing, Judge Abdullah lifted the gag order protecting the accused’s identity, emphasizing that it was to safeguard the remaining children. He allowed the publication of the victim’s name, Umaisyah, urging that she be remembered personally, not as an anonymous victim.
The man’s defense lawyers maintained that their client was not shifting blame but simply recounting the events as they occurred. They argued that the fatal abuse was not premeditated but occurred spontaneously.
The judge condemned the offender’s actions as “vicious, callous, and heinous,” stating that there was little room for mitigation. He believed the accused needed punishment for his reprehensible acts, which denied Umaisyah the chance to grow up and live a fulfilling life. The victim’s mother’s case is still pending in court, with the murder charge against her withdrawn by the prosecution.
Note: The identities of the accused, the victim, and other individuals involved have been withheld due to legal restrictions.
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