Couple May Receive Life Sentence For Abuse Of Son With Hot Water
In 2020, a couple was sentenced to 27 years of jail for voluntarily causing hurt by grievous means.
The couple had poured hot water on their son, scalding him and eventually causing his death.
The prosecution is appealing for a life sentence for the couple instead.
It is also pushing for the couple to be convicted of murder by common intention, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
Couple sentenced to 27 years’ jail after scalding son with hot water on 4 occasions
The couple, Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman and wife Azlin Arujunah were both sentenced to 27 years’ jail in Jul 2020.
In addition, Ridzuan was given 24 strokes of the cane while Azlin received 12 more months of jail as she cannot be caned.
On 4 occasions in Oct 2016, the couple scalded their son with hot water.
On the last occasion on 22 Oct, Ridzuan hit the boy with a broom, then threw hot cups of water at him after Azlin asked him to “deal” with the boy.
The boy had not wanted to remove his pants for a shower.
The boy then fell forward and stopped moving after having the hot water splashed on him.
He was only taken to hospital more than 6 hours later due to the parents’ fears of getting arrested and passed away from his injuries the next day.
Couple cleared of murder
While the couple was initially charged with murder, they were cleared of the charge in Feb 2020 as the Justice said “prosecution had not proven the element of common intention, as not all the incidents involved both parents.”
She then reduced their charge to that of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon or means.
According to TODAY Online, Justice Valerie Thean disagreed with the prosecution on life imprisonment because medical evidence could not determine the injuries that arose from each incident.
However, on 7 Sep, the prosecutors appealed for the couple to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Azlin in particular, they said, should be convicted of murder by common intention.
The prosecution argued that the boy had been abused in a cruel and inhumane manner.
They also argued that Azlin was legally liable for all 4 instances of water splashing as she performed 3 of them and made her husband perform it the 4th time.
Court will issue decision later
The Apex Court, where the hearing took place, will reserve its decision on the appeal. It did not mention when the appeal’s decision will be issued.
No matter the decision, it’s undeniable that a child’s life was lost due to wanton cruelty.
We hope that the couple will be given the appropriate sentence at the end of the day so that the boy can have justice.
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