He abuses 5-month-old daughter, three sons
Deliveryman dangled baby daughter upside down on one leg, placed son on window ledge and fractured another son's left hand
A deliveryman physically abused four of his five children, putting them through a living hell at home.
Twice, earlier this year, the 35-year-old dangled his five-month-old daughter upside down by one leg.
Once, he even punched her stomach.
Her brothers were treated just as badly. The man whipped one of them with a rubber hose until the boy was bruised and he stepped on another son's left hand, breaking his wrist.
When his misdeeds were about to be exposed by a social worker, he threatened to commit suicide.
He then sat on the kitchen window ledge of his sixth-storey flat after placing his terrified third son there.
The six-year-old's upper body was hanging out the window, with his torso on the ledge and his legs inside the unit.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the children's identities, pleaded guilty in court yesterday to three counts of ill-treating a child, and one count each of endangering personal safety by performing a rash act, threatening a public service worker and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
Another three counts of ill-treating a child and one count of intentionally causing alarm will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The man lives in a flat in central Singapore with his second wife, who is 23, and his five children.On Feb 5, 2014, he found out from his wife that his eldest son, then nine, had been rude to her.
The man hit the boy's legs and arms with a rubber hose. He also slapped and punched the boy's face until the boy said sorry.
The next school day, the boy's teacher noticed that his face was heavily powdered and asked him about it. But the boy chose to remain silent.
When his teacher wiped off the powder, bruises and red marks were seen on the left side of his face. He was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).
The police were alerted on Feb 7 that year, but the abuse did not stop.
About a month later, the man's second son, then seven, was lying on a mattress in the living room when his stepmother - the man's second wife - stepped on his right knee and slapped him for not putting away his belongings properly.
When the man heard this, he marched out of his room and stepped twice on the boy's left hand and once on his abdomen.
The child's older brother, who was sleeping nearby, woke up when he heard him crying. The man then stepped on the older boy's stomach before returning to his room.
The next day, the younger boy told his form teacher that his left hand was hurting. He was taken to KKH, where it was found to be fractured.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Stephanie Koh said that to prevent the two older boys from being harmed again, they were admitted to an orphanage on April 8, 2014, with the man's consent.
On March 8 this year, the man's third son, now six, accompanied him to make a delivery in Yishun.
When the boy started misbehaving at a carpark, his father tossed a lit cigarette at him, which hit his face.
He also kicked the boy's stomach and slapped his face.
Sixteen days later, he had a quarrel with his second wife and made their daughter cry.
He grabbed the baby by one leg and dangled her upside down. He also tried to punch her, but failed. Her mother lodged a police report the next day.
A child protection officer from the Ministry of Social and Family Development went to their flat at about 6.15pm on April 13.
BRUISES
She spotted some bruises and a burn mark on the third son. The woman, 25, told the man she needed to take the boy for a medical examination.
The man became agitated when he heard this.He said: "If you bring him, you won't see me anymore. I won't do it in front of your eye (sic) and I will do it behind. Don't regret."The woman thought he was going to commit suicide and left the flat. But she returned shortly afterwards when he was gone.
He returned home at about 8.40pm and flew into a rage when he saw her, so he took the boy to the ledge.
The woman left the flat and called the police at about 9pm that day. They later arrested and charged him.
DPP Koh urged District Judge Mathew Joseph to jail the man for three years.
She said: "The facts show that the accused had callously used his children as punching bags to vent his anger with no restraint and total disregard for whether they could be injured in the process."
The man's lawyer, Mr Noor Mohamed Marican, told the judge the man committed the offences as he was stressed. The man will be sentenced on Aug 4. For each count of ill-treating a child, he can be jailed up to four years and fined up to $4,000.
Judge: Abuse 'particularly repugnant'
"You seem to be imaginative in the kinds of perverse harm you caused your children. Child abuse has no place in society especially... on your own child. (It is) particularly repugnant."
- District Judge Mathew Joseph, on a deliveryman who physically abused four of his five children, including a five-month-old girl
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