Two daughters, now aged 14 and 11, lived with their 11-year-old brother and mother in Singapore. Their father had divorced their mother in July 2021, but they saw him frequently.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the school both girls attended reported in Sept 2022 that the mother had dragged the older daughter by her hair and hit her in the head repeatedly.
They also alleged that both girls had been exposed to pornography.
Last April, both the daughters’ and the son’s schools reported that the children had gotten burnt and scalded, and the younger girl had been hit by her older sister.
The boy also received a bruise, supposedly from the older girl. Due to this, Child Protective Service (CPS) began investigating the case, finding burn marks on the eldest child’s arm.
In Dec 2023, the mother reported to the police that the 11-year-old daughter had threatened and physically beaten her. They found a scar from self-harm on the girl’s wrist and sent her to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
In the Youth Court, CPS requested the girls be taken away to a place of safety for 12 months under care and protection orders.
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The girls’ school had reported that the elder daughter had been watching pornography for three years. She also introduced it to her younger sister purportedly when the latter was just five years old.
The pair offered detailed and consistent descriptions of the porn websites and content.
CPS thus argued that both girls were exposed to “moral danger” under their mother’s care, which the judge agreed with.
The mother denied this claim, adding that she had blocked access to pornographic websites.
She instead blamed her ex-husband for buying their daughters laptops, mobile phones, and large monitor screens.
Apart from the porn exposure, CPS claimed the younger daughter had committed self-harm, suffered burns while cooking, and been injured in fights with her older sister.
Her mother had also thrown salt on her while calling her a “demon” and telling her to “go away”.
The mother denied this, saying she threw “salt cures”.
The judge also found that the girls were a danger to each other, as they had cut themselves and inflicted injuries on each other and their brother in fights.
He also noted that the mother encouraged her elder daughter to bring a penknife to school after hearing about her being bullied.
Her school reported that she had threatened her classmates in school with a penknife.
CPS further claimed that the mother had physically abused the older girl and left bruises on her face.
She once again denied it by claiming her child would have died on the spot from such actions.
Even though the children’s father said he did not perceive such physical treatment, the judge ordered the girls to be committed to places of safety away from their mother for 12 months.
A review will be made after six months.
Though their father did not object, the mother immediately appealed the decision. The case subsequently went to the High Court.
According to The Straits Times, the mother argued that the Youth Court judge’s decision was based on hearsay evidence by a school counsellor, whom she said was “Satan”.
However, the High Court judge said she had no proof to support her claims that the counsellor was unreliable or had ulterior motives.
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In the appeal, the mother also used lowered test scores to claim that her daughters had declined physically, mentally, and academically after CPS’ intervention.
The High Court judge, however, attributed this to them adjusting to a new environment.
He noted that the mother had refused to attend counselling due to unanswered questions about her daughters.
As such, the judge found that the mother hadn’t reflected on her “dismal” parenting methods or thought about how to improve as a parent.
He dismissed the appeal on 3 Sept and upheld the decision to take away the daughters. The mother started a verbal attack in response.
She claimed her mother had died six months ago and the same would happen to her daughters if separated from her. She also insisted that she was there to save lives and not to “play”.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the elder daughter would be sent to Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home, the younger girl to Marymount Centre, and the son to stay with the mother under supervision, all for 12 months.
The older sister disapproved of the arrangements, hoping to return to her mother.
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