A father has been sentenced to one year in prison for child abuse after hitting his daughter when she took too long to find his missing mobile phone.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place on 22 April at 9.40am.
The 26-year-old defendant lived in a HDB unit with his wife, their five-year-old daughter, and two-year-old son.
On that morning, the father could not find his mobile phone and asked his daughter to search for it.
Initially, she was unable to locate it.
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Eventually, she found the missing phone and returned it to him.
However, her father flew into a rage over the delay, shouting and swearing loudly before slapping her.
Upon hearing her cries, the defendant’s wife entered the room while holding their son.
The father then demanded that she take their son out of the room and threatened to throw him off the building if she did not comply.
The mother then took her son and daughter to the living room, but the father followed them there.
Despite the five-year-old hiding behind her mother, the defendant grabbed her by the hair and roughly dragged her towards him.
He slapped his daughter across the face, shoved her onto the sofa, and then slapped her again.
After the incident, the mother took her children and fled to her family’s home to seek help. One of her sisters called the police at 11.09am.
The five-year-old girl was subsequently taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for examination.
Source: Wikipedia
Hospital staff discovered bruises and abrasions on her forehead, face, ears, nose, and arms.
The daughter reported feeling frightened during the incident and rated the pain from the beating as 10 out of 10.
The defendant was charged with one count of child abuse and another of criminal intimidation.
A CCTV camera in their living room captured the incident and the footage was played in court, prompting both children to cry loudly during the presentation.
In his defence, the defendant, who represented himself, claimed he was feeling stressed on the day of the incident.
He alleged that he was overwhelmed by his son’s loud cries and the constant notifications from his phone due to work-related matters.
He stated that he had warned his daughter about her mischievous behaviour and only hit her when she continued to disobey him.
Expressing remorse, the defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing.
On Tuesday (1 Oct), the judge sentenced him to one year in jail.
Also read: 21-year-old man jailed for killing abusive father in Yishun after years of torment
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