Woman who slapped toddler son in bid to get husband to apologise jailed
SINGAPORE — When a man was unable to purchase tickets to Universal Studios Singapore (USS), his enraged wife hurled vulgarities at their toddler son and slapped him.
Fang Dong Dong, 29, had wanted her husband to stop arguing with her and to apologise. The Chinese national also threatened to “chop” their son in messages sent to her husband.
She was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Thursday (May 16) after pleading guilty to four charges, including ill-treating a child, voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon and criminal intimidation.
Another five charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing.
A turbulent marriage
Fang is married to Singaporean Chan Sin Kai, 50. Both have a one-year-old son together.
Their marriage was turbulent, with Fang resorting to violence during marital disputes.
In the midst of an argument on 20 May last year, Fang threatened to chop Chan with a knife in their flat. She hacked at the bedroom door which Chan hid behind.
In September last year, Fang assaulted Chan again after drinking five bottles of beer. The family had watched a football match at a bar before heading home on 15 September.
The couple argued on the way back. Upon reaching home, Fang grabbed a kitchen knife and began slashing at Chan, who raised his arms in self defence.
The woman then threw the knife at Chan, who dodged it. The knife broke into two pieces as it hit a wall. Chan was also attacked with a broom, stick and cup.
He sustained a 3cm laceration over his elbow and multiple abrasions over his face, upper limb and neck.
Three days later, Fang again became violent in an argument with her husband, but used her son to get her way.
Fang had texted Chan to get USS tickets but the latter did not, sparking an argument. During the text exchange, Fang took a video of herself hurling vulgarities at their son, now aged 1.
She then sent another video of herself slapping their son and threatened to chop their son if Chan did not apologise. The husband gave in and apologised.
When Chan reached home, he found his son’s cheek was red and swollen.
The next day, Chan made a police report detailing all the incidents of violence.
Fang was assessed by the Institute of Mental Health to have Alcohol Use Disorder of a moderate severity. However, the assessment noted that she knew her actions were wrong.
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