S’pore judges overturn original verdict, mete out life sentence to man for stepdaughter’s murder

Singapore man gets life imprisonment for murdering 4-year-old stepdaughter in anger

Yesterday (2 April), a 31-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his then four-year-old stepdaughter, after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction on a lesser charge.

He was also sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane, The Straits Times (ST) reported

Muhammad Salihin Ismail had previously been acquitted of murder and convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt in March 2022.

He was sentenced to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane at the time for kicking his stepdaughter in anger leading to her death.

However, prosecutors appealed against the High Court decision, requesting that he be convicted of murder.

Kicked stepdaughter as he was upset that she urinated outside toilet bowl

The incident took place on 1 Sept 2018 at the family’s rental flat located in Bukit Batok. Salihin had assaulted his stepdaughter, Nursabrina Agustiani Abdullah, on two occasions.

According to TODAY, his wife and himself had been trying to toilet-train her during that period.

During the first incident, Nursabrina had urinated on the floor. Agitated, the accused placed her on the toilet bowl and struck her stomach.

Source: Freepik, for illustration purposes only

In the second instance later that day, Salihin had instructed Nursabrina to go to the toilet by herself. Once again, she urinated on the ground.

This triggered him to push her down onto the floor and forcefully kick her abdomen twice.

Girl passed away the following day

The girl began vomiting that evening, and continued to do so overnight. Salihin and his wife applied ointment to her abdomen, but to no avail.

She subsequently fell unconscious on the morning of 2 Sept 2018.

TODAY also noted that resuscitation efforts were in vain, as she was pronounced dead in the hospital around 10am.

Her autopsy revealed that she died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

In his defence, Salihin suggested that there could have been other causes for the fatal injuries, such as the vomiting action, when her twins “bounced” on her stomach, or when he performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her.

Accused was sentenced to life imprisonment

Yesterday (2 April), the Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution’s appeal.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon pointed out that the lower court judge erred in understanding and applying the law, said the ST report.

He also stressed that the evidence revealed that Salihin kicked the girl forcefully as he wanted to teach the girl a lesson.

His sentence has been adjusted to life imprisonment.

Also read: Man Kills Daughter & Hides Burnt Remains In Pot In Chee Swee Road Flat, Jailed 21.5 Years

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Featured image adapted from iStock.