In 2020, a behavioural therapist in Singapore physically abused a young boy with autism.
The instances of assault happened during closed-door therapy sessions in the victim’s home.
On Tuesday (12 Dec), the court sentenced 33-year-old Nur Amira Muhamad Razali to three weeks in jail.
She had previously pleaded guilty to assaulting the nine-year-old boy.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that Nur Amira had been first caught assaulting the child in 2020.
She had been the victim’s therapist for five years before that.
The victim’s mother suspected that something was amiss when she found injuries on her son after a therapy session.
In Jun 2020, she noticed scratches on his back. Additionally, he had a red lump on his hand.
She had initially chalked up the injuries to her son’s carelessness — until she found red nail marks on his arm the next month.
Following this distressing discovery, the mother installed a hidden camera in the room where they had the therapy sessions.
On 29 Jul 2020, the camera captured Nur Amira abusing the boy. She had reportedly hit him and grabbed him by the neck.
Source: Daily Post, for illustration purposes only
The victim’s mother filed a police report that same day.
According to TODAY, the victim was diagnosed with severe autism at four years old.
Due to his condition, he wasn’t able to express himself verbally unlike most of his peers.
Principal District Judge Jill Tan noted that the child was “vulnerable and non-verbal” during the sentencing today.
The judge also said that Nur Amira had abused the trust that the victim’s parents had in her as a therapist.
The court heard that the offender had graduated from the Singapore Institute of Management in 2016 with a degree in Psychology. She then completed the registered behavioural technician course in July 2020.
Nur Amira was working as an educational and behavioural therapist at an autism therapy centre at the time of the offence.
The accused pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to the nine-year-old victim.
Though the prosecution had asked the court to sentence Nur Amira to between four and six weeks’ jail, she was sentenced to three weeks.
The judge noted that the duration was appropriate even though she is 26 weeks pregnant.
This is because her condition does not outweigh the aggressive factors of the case.
Nur Amira could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.
She could have also faced twice the maximum punishment imposed by the court, since the victim was below 14 years old.
Nur Amira had also assaulted a six-year-old child with autism in a separate case, reported ST.
Also read: Woodlands Preschool Teacher Arrested For Ill-Treatment Of Children, Faces Up To 8 Years’ Jail
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Featured image adapted from pixelshot on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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