In 2020, an 11-year-old girl was abused by her mother and former auxiliary police officer stepfather to death.
The girl suffered horrid assaults, including being hit with a weightlifting bar, being forced to eat chilli padi, and even being splashed with hot water.
The stepdaughter died of head injuries after her stepfather hit her head with the bar while she was eating.
On Monday (27 Feb), the 28-year-old man and 29-year-old woman pleaded guilty to their charges in connection to the death of the child.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the woman was the victim’s biological mother and started dating the 28-year-old man in May 2019. They moved in together in October of that same year.
The identities of the offenders and the victim were not disclosed due to gag orders.
CNA reports that the man would grow upset with the victim for reasons such as believing she was stealing and eating too slowly.
Between February and March 2020, the man instructed his stepdaughter to stand on a table and hold a 1.5-litre bottle at shoulder level. If she lowered the bottle, he would cane her arms.
Besides that, he would also:
Source: bonnontawat on 123RF
The attacks could last up to 30 minutes with her mother present.
However, the man’s family members noticed her bruises and admonished him for abusing the girl. They also threatened to report him to the police and scolded her mother for not stepping in.
Meanwhile, his brother suggested an “Exercise Begin” practice to discipline the victim. This method entailed the children getting into uncomfortable exercise positions or performing actual exercises.
After getting married in April, the couple started using the method to discipline their children.
When the victim did not complete her homework, answered questions wrongly, or lied, he would abuse her by:
The abuse continued until the girl vomited. Her mother did not stop the man but complained that she had to clean the mess.
Besides that, the woman also forced her daughter to eat the chilli padi if she thought the latter was rude or lying. This happened on five occasions between September and October 2020.
Afraid of the possible discovery of the victim’s bruises and injuries, the couple reportedly did not allow her to attend school between August and October 2020.
On 29 Sep 2020, a student welfare officer and assistant year head from the victim’s school visited the flat to check on the victim.
However, the couple informed the pair that the victim was sleeping, and prevented them from entering, reports CNA.
In October 2020, the man hit the victim in the stomach with a weightlifting bar as he believed she had lied to her mother.
He also struck her on the shoulder and lower back with the bar while she was bent over, facing the ground.
That same month, the mother poured hot water on the daughter’s neck and head as she was sleeping. This caused her to suffer blisters which scarred her forehead, neck, and the back of her head.
After the man became aware of the incident, he agreed with the woman to keep the victim at home in order to prevent the school from finding out about the abuse.
In mid-October, the student welfare officer requested a video call with the girl and Child Protective Service (CPS) officers.
Although the officer had been asking to see the victim, her mother rejected her requests.
However, the officer insisted on seeing the victim. As such, the couple agreed to the call but made the girl wear long-sleeved pyjamas and sit in a dim location so her injuries would not be as visible.
The victim continued to be abused that same month, with the man punching the girl on her head in one instance.
In November 2020, the man grew unhappy as the stepdaughter appeared to be ignoring her mother. He then used the bar and attacked her multiple times.
Later that night, he grew frustrated as she was scooping rice too slowly. The girl did not reply and the man hit her thighs with the exercise bar in anger.
20 minutes later as she was still eating, the man shouted at her to eat faster.
He became angrier after she replied that she was “eating now”, and swung the exercise bar at her head.
However, she continued eating at a speed that was perceived as slow to him. Thus, he continued striking the girl’s head and shoulders.
The stepdaughter then attempted to protect herself by raising her shoulder, which enraged him further.
As he wanted to catch her off guard, he waited until she resumed eating.
When he found an opportunity, he swung the bar at her head with force, causing the bar to bend.
The girl was knocked unconscious by the blow and fell backwards and sideways on the floor — she sustained skull fractures, brain contusions, and a bleeding scalp.
Meanwhile, her mother did not intervene even though she knew what was happening.
After realising that the victim had blacked out, the man carried her to the toilet and sprayed water on her face while reciting prayers.
The victim eventually awoke but was bleeding from her ear.
Upon noticing that her head was swollen, the man apparently panicked as he knew she needed medical attention.
However, the couple decided against bringing her to the hospital, as they did not know how to explain the injuries.
The man also knew he would be arrested, and the woman did not want her children taken away from her.
Afterwards, the victim became dizzy and could not use her right hand properly. He then instructed her to do exercises with the arm as he believed it would “stabilise” when she used it more.
But when he noticed that she was avoiding using her right hand, the man became angry and forced her to get into the push-up position.
The girl was unable to maintain her position and kept falling. The man then warned her that he would hit her if she did not get up, making her maintain the position with just her right arm.
She was unable to do so, and he beat her back with the exercise bar again.
Three days later, the mother massaged the victim’s arm in a manner that caused pain. She told the latter to endure it and even bit her in an attempt to stop her from crying.
The next day, the girl told her mother that she was in pain and felt dizzy.
When she tried to stand up, she collapsed on the mattress and was unresponsive although she was breathing and blinking.
The mother later informed her husband, who told her to “pray” for the victim.
Subsequently, the mother called an ambulance while a neighbour checked on the girl. However, they found no pulse or heartbeat.
At the hospital, the man was afraid when he saw uniformed officers. Thus, the couple agreed that they would say that she suffered injuries from skateboarding.
Although they provided this excuse to the doctor, the hospital alerted the police later.
While the couple waited at the hospital, they deleted messages to cover up their abuse.
The victim was pronounced dead about two hours later and was said to have weighed just 20kg at the point of her death.
An autopsy revealed that the girl died of a head injury. She also had several other injuries including:
After the couple’s arrest, they were assessed at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
Although they did not have any mental illness or intellectual disability, it was found that the man was a victim of child abuse. This made him susceptible to becoming an abuser.
The couple pleaded guilty on Monday (27 Feb) in relation to the child’s abuse and death.
The case has been adjourned to a late date for mitigation and sentencing.
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Featured image adapted from doidam10 on Adobe Stock Image and by MS News.
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