Man who bit son's thigh, tied him up with bicycle hook jailed, fined
SINGAPORE — Angry at his six-year-old son who vomited in his van, a man choked him then used a bicycle hook to tie the boy’s hands together.
The boy ended up dislodging a tooth while he was struggling.
His father, 36, was jailed nine months and fined $4,500 on Tuesday (10 August) after he pleaded guilty to two charges of ill-treating the child, along with one charge of assaulting his wife, and one charge of harassing a bus captain in an unrelated incident.
The child, who is around eight now, has since been placed in MINDSville@Napiri Home, a housing complex for those with intellectual disabilities, as he has global developmental delay. While initially aggressive, the boy’s behaviour has improved, and he has been undergoing programmes to help with speech and language.
The names of the man and his wife cannot be revealed to protect the boy's identity due to a gag order.
Man bit son's thigh
On 29 November 2018, the man’s wife brought their sons to Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic. The elder son, then five, bit his younger brother, then one, on his right thigh while they were playing.
That evening, the woman told her husband about the incident, angering the man. He decided to discipline his elder son by caning his thigh then biting it. He wanted his elder son to feel how painful it was to be bitten, according to the prosecution.
On 4 December that year, the father brought the boy to KK Women's and Children's Hospital for an appointment. The boy was admitted over concerns of his injuries, and the police were informed after a nurse observed how roughly the man handled his son. The man had grabbed his son and forced him to lie down while holding down his lower limbs.
A doctor also saw the boy’s injuries and felt that the man had given him an inconsistent account as to how the injuries happened. The boy had lesions on his shin, bruises and a bite mark.
On 23 March 2019, the man was driving his wife and the boy in his van. As he drove, his son vomited in the van. The man shouted at him and ended up arguing with his wife.
He got progressively angrier at the boy, who cried and shouted. After the wife shouted at the man to control his temper, he picked up his son by his neck and back, causing him to choke. He then wrapped his hands around his son’s neck and shook him, saying that he hated him. He then tied the boy’s hands together with a bicycle hook and drove the van away.
A passerby witnessed the act and called the police, providing the van’s registration number.
Police managed to trace the man’s identity and brought the boy to the hospital where he was seen to have bruises, abrasions, and a missing left lower incisor. The boy was admitted into hospital and later discharged into the care of his maternal grandmother.
Man was stabbed by wife
On 28 July 2019, the man got into an argument with his wife, who accused him of having an affair. As the dispute escalated, the man threw a plastic chair at his wife, who then charged at him and bit his right shoulder. He bit her back and called the police.
The woman later took a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the chest. When police officers arrived, they separated the couple. The man had a 3cm stab wound in his upper chest wall.
The wife has been charged and her case is pending.
Separately, the man argued with a bus captain who overtook him on the road on 7 July 2018. The bus captain, who was driving a loop bus service 62 from Punggol Interchange to Sims Avenue had flashed his high beam at the man, who was driving his van at 20kmh. The man did not speed but pointed his middle finger at the bus captain.
After the bus stopped at a bus stop, the man parked his van in front of the bus, alighted and knocked on the bus driver’s side window before hurling Hokkien vulgarities at the victim.
The man’s lawyer, Ng Shi Yang from the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, told the court that his client had been experiencing “many significant stressors” including marriage problems, and job pressure.
While the man's work involved delivering parcels, he also had to travel with his wife and two children to take care of them, the pro-bono lawyer said.
The man had been suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, and experiencing a “dark chapter of his life” during the time of the offences, said the lawyer, who added that the man felt sorry towards his sons.
Since being separated from his wife, the man has had a much happier life as his wife had “created a very toxic environment for him in terms of finances and family”. He now has a girlfriend.
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