Man who abused daughter to death appeals against 35-year sentence, gets life imprisonment instead
Not satisfied with his 35-year jail sentence for abusing his daughter to death, a man filed an appeal to shorten it.
Instead, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to life imprisonment, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Man initially sentenced to 35 years in prison on 6 charges
The 45-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, was initially sentenced to 34.5 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane last April.
This came after he pleaded guilty to six charges:
- Culpable homicide (one charge)
- Child abuse (four charges)
- Disposing of evidence (one charge)
However, as he was unfit for caning due to degenerative disc disease and disc compression, he was given an extra six months of jail instead of caning.
Man appeals for shorter sentence
But his case did not end there. On Friday (11 July), the man’s lawyers appealed for a shorter sentence.
They asked for 25.5 to 30 years in prison instead.
The prosecution did not appeal for a longer sentence, but the Court asked both sides to argue whether the case was among the worst cases of culpable homicide in Singapore.
According to the Penal Code 1871, the maximum punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder is life imprisonment. The man initially received 15 years in prison.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online
The man’s lawyers argued that a life term was uncalled for, and that he had shown “genuine remorse”.
But the prosecution argued that life imprisonment would not be out of proportion.
This was because the man’s actions deserved a sentence towards the lengthier side of the sentencing range, considering “the full extent of the cruelty perpetrated against” his biological daughter, Ayeesha.
Girl was severely undernourished & weighed 13.2kg when she died
Ayeesha had endured “extreme physical, emotional and psychological suffering” before and during her fatal attack, prosecutors said.
The girl and her younger brother, the man’s children from his first marriage, started living with him and his second wife from early 2015.
Since then, the children were not given enough food and were forced to eat their own faeces.
Ayeesha ended up being severely undernourished — at the time of her death, she weighed just 13.2kg.
Girl & brother kept naked in toilet for 11 months
Since Feb 2016, Ayeesha and her brother lived in “inhumane conditions”, prosecutors added.
At first, they were kept between a bookshelf and a wardrobe.
But in Oct 2016, they were moved to the kitchen toilet, where they slept naked for close to 10 months.
Source: Court documents via Shin Min Daily News
Their father, who is martial arts-trained, also physically abused them.
Girl dies after being beaten in toilet
On 10 Aug 2017, the man hit Ayeesha on her face 15 to 20 times.
Later, he punched the children’s backs, and kicked, stamped and slapped Ayeesha.
When they subsequently found her dead, the man attempted to dispose of evidence, including a CCTV camera,
He took Ayeesha’s body and her brother to the hospital on 12 Aug 2017, where he lied to the police that she had hit her head at the playground.
He was later arrested and admitted to lying.
Man handed life imprisonment for ‘truly horrific’ suffering of daughter
On Friday, the prosecution described Ayeesha’s suffering as “truly horrific and difficult to imagine”, which resulted from the prolonged period of abuse and neglect, as well as the man’s heinous and unprovoked attack.
It also noted that the Court has the discretion to increase the defendant’s sentence even though the prosecution did not appeal for it to do so.
This can be done if “the interests of justice” call for an extension.
The three judges on the panel eventually exercised this discretion and amended the man’s sentence for culpable homicide from 15 years to life imprisonment.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who led the panel, said a detailed explanation of the decision would be issued.
Source: Ye Jinghan on Unsplash. For illustration purposes only.
The man’s wife, 34, is facing four counts of ill-treating a child and two counts of giving false information to a police officer.
Her case is pending before the courts, with a pre-trial conference to be held next Tuesday (15 July).
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Featured image adapted from court documents via Shin Min Daily News and MS News.
