Man jailed for abusing girlfriend's son
A 32-year-old man was sentenced to two years in jail for abusing his girlfriend's child.
Yesterday, the man, who cannot be named, to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty to ill treatment of a child, with another charge taken into consideration.
The man was living with his girlfriend, who had custody of her two children from a previous marriage.
In July 2018, his girlfriend, 28, suspected he might have been harming her children after she saw him knocking her son's back.
She found out he had a history of child abuse through online searches and installed a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera in the living room of their home, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En said.
The following month, she found the victim crying after the man had brought him into the living room.
She checked the CCTV footage and it showed the man hitting the boy repeatedly. He also slapped the boy twice, causing him to lurch to the right.
DPP Tay told District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim the accused then used his palm to push the boy on his forehead. The impact was hard enough to cause the boy to lurch backwards a few steps. The man also used his knuckles to hit the victim's face. The boy did not react throughout.
When the man was confronted by his girlfriend, he claimed he could not remember the incident.
DPP Tay asked for a sentence of at least two years, arguing the man had even deleted the incriminating CCTV footage. He said: "Unfortunately, it appears the only lesson the accused has learnt is to be more deliberate in covering up his heinous actions to avoid detection."
The court heard that the man has a history of child abuse offences.
In 2010, he got angry at his then girlfriend's son, who was about four years old. He slapped the boy, causing the boy's head to hit the wall, and bleed from the lips.
The boy later collapsed in the toilet and was taken to a hospital, where he died from a head injury.
In mitigation, the man's lawyer said his family has forgiven him, and his girlfriend is pregnant with his child.
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