SINGAPORE, Oct 21 — A Singaporean father was playing a game on his phone as his wife repeatedly smothered their eight-month-old son to death, bringing a horrific end to months of abuse during which the couple shook, slapped and suffocated the infant to stop him from crying.

Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and Neo Jia Ming, 27, were sentenced today to 15 years and three months and 16 years in jail respectively over the death of their son, Trevor Neo Yu Hin, Singapore-based media organisation CNA reported.

The couple had subjected Trevor to repeated violence for about seven months of his short life, with neither intervening when the other abused him.

According to court proceedings, Gan discovered that violently shaking her baby could make him stop crying or lose consciousness, having seen her husband use the same method.

The pair frequently shook Trevor before escalating to covering his nose and mouth or smothering him to silence his cries.

Neo also slapped the infant hard enough to leave bruises and forcefully pinched his fingers to observe his reaction.

Trevor was hospitalised for about a week at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) in January 2024 after losing consciousness when his mother shook him. Doctors found no injuries at the time.

In April that year, a nanny noticed bleeding beneath the baby’s tongue and insisted that his parents seek medical attention.

A doctor subsequently found signs of trauma inside Trevor’s mouth.

After leaving the hospital, Neo admitted to Gan that he had dug around inside their son’s mouth to stop him from crying, causing the bleeding.

By May, Gan’s mother had noticed bruises on Trevor and warned her daughter to stop hitting him.

But the abuse continued.

In early August, Neo instructed his wife not to hit the baby before an upcoming medical appointment, fearing that a doctor would notice the bruises and accuse them of abuse.

On September 1, 2024, Gan repeatedly pressed a blanket over Trevor’s face after becoming frustrated by his crying, while Neo was in the same room playing a game on his phone.

According to CNA’s account of the court proceedings, Gan turned to her husband during the assault and asked: “How? You want the baby to die?”

Neo replied: “Wait for the baby to make noise first, then you try again.”

When Trevor resumed crying, Gan again pressed down on his face before eventually turning him face down in his cot and going to sleep.

Later that night, Neo finished his phone game and checked on his son, discovering that the infant was no longer breathing and that his hands were cold.

He woke Gan, who found Trevor unresponsive with purple lips. The couple attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation but were unable to revive him.

Rather than calling an ambulance, Neo instructed his wife to arrange a taxi because he did not want to incur the cost of an ambulance.

On the way to hospital, he told Gan to remain silent and not say anything, suggesting that they could carry on with their lives without worrying about money if the police did not become involved.

Trevor was pronounced dead at KKH shortly after midnight on September 2, 2024. Both parents were arrested later that morning.

Gan pleaded guilty to three charges involving causing her child’s death, ill-treatment and permitting ill-treatment.

Neo admitted to four charges, including allowing his son’s death, ill-treatment, permitting his wife’s abuse of the child and domestic abuse of Gan.

The court heard that Neo had no mental illness, while Gan was assessed as having no postpartum psychiatric disorder around March or April 2024.

However, she may have suffered from an adjustment disorder that contributed to a minor degree to her offending, although it did not impair her ability to understand the risks of her actions.

Prosecutors had sought between 14 and 15 years’ imprisonment for Gan and between 15 and 16 years for Neo.

Gan’s lawyers argued for a sentence of no more than 12 years and six months to 13 years, citing her youth, inexperience as a first-time mother and mental condition.

Neo’s defence sought seven years and seven weeks, arguing that he had been absorbed in his mobile phone game during the fatal assault and had not instructed his wife to smother their son.

The prosecution, however, argued that Neo had encouraged Gan’s actions.

The couple married in August 2023 after Gan became pregnant earlier that year. Trevor, born that December, was their first child.