SINGAPORE. Sept 1 — When she first struck her stepson, who was then 11, she apologised and promised not to do it again.
But she went back on her promise and abused the boy several more times.
Even when the authorities came into the picture, she refused to cooperate and left an intervention programme early insisting that the boy deserved to be disciplined.
Today, the 44-year-old woman pleaded guilty to three counts of ill-treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act.
Another two similar charges will be considered for sentencing on October 6.
She cannot be named due to a court gag order to protect her stepson’s identity.
The woman and her daughter lived with the boy and his father, who had custody of him after divorcing the boy’s mother.
The abuse started in November 2016 after the boy finished his meal, placed an empty plate in the kitchen sink and went to his room.
She called the boy back to the kitchen, told him to wash the plate and said: “You think I am your maid, is it?”
As he washed the plate, she hit him on the back of his head with a ceramic mug.
When she realised he was bleeding from his head, she took him to the toilet to wash his wound and told his father what had happened.
The boy was treated for three scalp lacerations at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) the next day.
No police report was lodged as she apologised and promised she would not hit the boy again.
The abuse continued
A few months later on May 19, 2017, she instructed her stepson to revise subjects he was weak in before she left the flat.
When she returned home in the evening, she asked him about an English test question.
As he was trying to recall the question, she slapped his face a few times.
He felt dizzy, heard a ringing sound in his head and had blood in his mouth from the slapping.
The next day, a relative saw the injuries on him and told his paternal aunt.
She lodged a police report at the Bedok North Neighbourhood Police Centre as she was aware this was not the first time his stepmother had abused him.
He was taken to KKH again where he was found with two abrasions on his cheek and one of his upper teeth was somewhat detached.
During police investigations, he told officers that he loved his stepmother and did not want her to be charged in court.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) intervened and referred the entire family to the Kampong Kapor Family Service Centre.
The family was placed in the Safe and Strong Families programme in October 2017, which aims to provide families with home-based intervention so parents can better provide a nurturing home for their children.
Left MSF programme
The woman however did not cooperate with programme workers and remained insistent that the boy was in the wrong.
As a result, the family left the programme prematurely.
From May 2017 to June 2018, while she did not physically abuse him, she spoke to him in a demeaning manner.
This included calling him a “prostitute’s child” and tearing up his Good Conduct Award from school, saying that he did not deserve it.
On July 20, 2018, she physically abused her stepson again.
She called the then 13-year-old boy on the phone, telling him to clean the kitchen toilet and sweep the floor.
However, when she returned home, he lied to her and said that he had completed the tasks.
While scolding him, she punched his nose causing him to bleed.
A week later, when she found out that he had not attended his school remedial lessons, she slapped his face multiple times.
She also hit his face and arms with a bag and punched him on the arm.
His teacher noticed cuts and bruises on his face and arm when he returned to school.
She reported this to the vice-principal, who noticed the boy had a swollen forehead, swelling at the back of his head, a cut below his eye and bruising on his forehead.
The boy told the vice-principal that there was “nothing wrong” with what his stepmother had done to him.
He was taken to KKH on July 30, 2018, and the MSF and police were alerted again. — TODAY
