Back in July, Mohamed Aliff Mohamed Yusoff was charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s nine-month-old son.
Aliff had reportedly slammed the baby, Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad, against the floorboard of his van.
Izz succumbed to his injuries and passed away shortly after.
For his offence, Aliff was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane.
The Straits Times (ST) reports that on Thursday (11 Aug), the High Court sentenced Aliff, 29, to life imprisonment with 15 strokes of the cane.
At the time of sentencing, High Court Judge Mavis Chionh found that the circumstances of the incident did not call for the death penalty.
However, she added that the courts have a tough stance against those who intentionally use violence to cause the deaths of young victims unable to defend themselves.
As a baby, Izz was completely unable to defend himself, making him especially vulnerable.
To drive this point home, the judge pointed out the physical differences between Izz, who was 71cm and weighed just 8.3kg, and Aliff, a full-grown adult.
Justice Chionh also said that Aliff displayed a “disturbing lack of remorse” after causing Izz’s death.
Instead of immediately transporting him to the hospital, Aliff suggested paying someone off to bury Izz and report him as missing after a year had passed.
He also told his girlfriend, Izz’s mother Nadiah Abdul Jalil, that they should both attribute the incident to an accidental fall and delayed bringing Izz to the hospital.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the incident occurred after Aliff, Izz, and Ms Nadiah had gone out for dinner on 7 Nov 2019.
The couple had allegedly gotten into an argument over how to discipline the child for spilling a drink.
Aliff later offered to take care of Izz for the night and drove him to a car park at Yishun Street 81.
The prosecution argued that Aliff pushed Izz’s head against the wooden floorboard of the van at least two times.
Autopsy results show that the cause of Izz’s death was bleeding in the brain as a result of traumatic injury.
During the trial, Aliff alleged that Izz fidgeted in his arms. This caused the infant to plunge headfirst onto the floorboard and then fall to the ground.
However, ST notes that Justice Chionh found Aliff’s testimony to have numerous inconsistencies. It contradicted medical evidence as well.
As such, she came to the conclusion that Aliff had caused Izz’s fatal injuries by pushing the latter’s head against the van’s floorboard and convicted him of murder.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and MS News.
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