“Spare the rod and spoil the child” is a mantra that many parents follow, especially in Asia. However, there is a fine line between physical discipline and outright abuse.
On Monday (9 May), Muhammad Salihin Ismail, 29, was sentenced to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane for kicking his four-year-old stepdaughter’s stomach.
Unfortunately, the girl, Nursabrina Agustiani Abdullah, passed away from her injuries.
He testified that he did not intentionally hurt her.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the incident happened on 1 Sep 2018 at their home at Bukit Batok West Avenue 9.
Salihin allegedly pushed Nursabrina to the floor and kicked her twice in the stomach.
Source: Google Maps
He had been trying to toilet-train her in preparation for school, but she urinated on the floor instead of inside the toilet bowl.
In frustration, Salihin reacted by kicking “what was in front of him”. Unfortunately, it happened to be Nursabrina’s abdomen.
Later that day, she complained about a stomachache, which Salihin and her mother tried to soothe by applying ointment.
When Nursabrina collapsed the next morning, they took her to a hospital. She was pronounced dead.
An autopsy concluded that she passed away from blunt force trauma to her abdomen, which caused bleeding in the peritoneal cavity.
Prior to this incident, Salihin also scalded Nursabrina’s back with hot water from a showerhead in 2017. He also slammed her head on the floor in 2018, causing bruises.
TODAY reports that Salihin was acquitted of a murder charge after Supreme Court judge Pang Khang Chau ruled that he did not intentionally kick his stepdaughter in the abdomen.
The prosecution had argued that one aggravating factor in the current case was Salihin’s delay in seeking medical attention for Nursabrina.
However, Judge Pang noted there was insufficient evidence that the delay was deliberate.
Therefore, he was convicted of a lesser charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his stepdaughter, and sentenced to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
If found guilty of murder, he would have faced life imprisonment with caning or the death penalty.
The death of a young child is always tragic, especially when it is at the hands of a caretaker.
While trying to educate their children on what’s right, there are boundaries that parents should never cross.
Even if injuries aren’t always fatal, they can still result in long-term psychological trauma.
MS News expresses our condolences to Nursabrina’s family. May she rest in peace.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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