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SINGAPORE – A former teacher who subjected her stepson to physical and verbal abuse, calling him a “son of a prostitute” and breaking his award for good behavior, was jailed for seven months on Wednesday (October 7).
The 45-year-old, who is currently a tutor who teaches children and adolescents, slapped her stepson on the cheeks, hit her head with a mug and hit her nose, drawing blood each time.
Despite the intervention of the authorities, he continued to abuse the boy, then between 11 and 13 years old, claiming that he was disciplining the boy.
In sentencing the woman, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt said: “Unfortunately, in these cases, defendants would generally say as mitigation that (the crimes) were committed because they want to discipline the child.
“Such a motive, such an excuse, is unsustainable given the injuries, the violence involved and the events that are committed, and especially in this case when the defendant herself was a former teacher and educator.
“You of all people would know what it means to discipline a child, but you went beyond that to commit these crimes.”
The Singaporean woman, who cannot be identified due to a gag order, pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse on September 1, and two similar charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing.
To mitigate the woman, her lawyer Amarjit Singh submitted testimonies from the parents of the students she had taught, as well as a letter from the victim herself, who is now 15 years old.
Amarjit noted that the boy has reached some maturity and stated in his letter that he wishes to stay with the woman as she could help him with his exams due to her qualifications as a tutor. She has since forgiven her stepmother.
“My client wants to continue loving the girl, stay together with her husband and her own biological daughter, and plan for the future … A jail sentence would further alienate the mother-child relationship,” said the lawyer, and requested a fine as punishment.
However, Deputy Prosecutor (DPP) Daphne Lim objected to a fine, noting that the woman had not pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had prolonged the matter.
The prosecution told the court that the woman had relapsed despite the intervention and had abused the child for a prolonged period of two years.
“It was only (through) the victim’s family members and the school that the crimes came to light, so deterrence is important,” DPP Lim said, noting how abuse was generally kept hidden from public view. .
The DPP pointed out that the pardon by the victim was irrelevant in the sentence, as it was a private matter between the boy and his stepmother.
Abuse for two years
The abuse occurred as early as November 2016. On one occasion, the woman asked the child to wash his own plate and said: “You think I’m your maid, right?”
While washing his plate, the woman hit him on the back of his neck with a ceramic mug, causing him to bleed.
She then took him to wash the wound and informed her husband about the incident. The boy received treatment in a hospital, however, no police report was presented as the woman apologized and promised not to hit the boy again.
Despite his promise, he relapsed on May 19, 2017 and slapped the boy in the face after he did not remember a question from the English test. Her paternal aunt noticed her injuries and filed a police report, as it was not the first time that the boy had been abused by her stepmother.
However, the victim told police that she loved her stepmother and did not want her to be charged in court.
Instead, the family was referred to the Kampong Kapor Family Services Center, through the intervention of the Ministry of Social and Family Development. The family was placed in the “Safe and Strong Families” (SSF) program in October 2017.
They did not complete the program, and the uncooperative woman insisted that the victim be disciplined.
Between May 2017 and June 2018, he used degrading insults to the victim, calling him a “son of a prostitute” and breaking his Good Conduct Award, justifying that he did not deserve it.
He again inflicted violence on the boy on July 20, 2018, after the boy lied about cleaning the house. She punched him in the nose, making him bleed.
Seven days later, when the woman was informed that her stepson had not attended remedial classes at school, she became angry and repeatedly slapped him. She also hit him with a bag, giving him bruises and cuts on his body.
This time, the boy’s teacher noticed his injuries at school and reported the matter to the assistant principal. The boy was taken to the hospital on July 30, 2018, where he received treatment for scratches, bruises and abrasions.
For her crimes under the Children and Adolescents Act, the woman could have been imprisoned for up to four years and fined a maximum of $ 4,000.
Woman admits to calling her stepson ‘son of a prostitute’ and repeatedly abusing him
