Man used phone to hit girlfriend’s son, 3, for crying

Irritated by the crying of his then girlfriend’s child after he had moved in with them, a man used his mobile phone to repeatedly bash the three-year-old boy’s forehead.

When the mother tried to stop him, he hit her, before continuing to hit the boy with his device.

He stopped the mother from taking her son to the doctor when the child’s head started swelling, only relenting a few days later, when the boy’s condition worsened.

On July 19, the 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to five charges of voluntarily causing hurt. Four similar charges, including one for criminal intimidation, will be taken into consideration for his sentencing in August.

He is not being named to protect the identity of the victims.

The man, who was late and kept the court waiting, had initially told court officers he did not want his bailor present during the hearing. When the proceedings started, he repeatedly waved off his bailor, his current girlfriend.

Asked by District Judge Christopher Goh Eng Chiang why he did not want her present, the man said it was her choice.

“We have been in a relationship for a year. I told her I had this ex-girlfriend and that I beat up her kid. My girlfriend told me she understood why I did it and that she doesn’t want to be a part of this hearing,” he said.

When the judge asked if he did not want her to be there, the man finally admitted he did not want her to listen to the “hassle”.

Seeking between nine and 11½ months’ jail for the man, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Zhen Xiong said the man met his ex-girlfriend in 2022 and moved in to live with her and her son. He was working as a food delivery rider at the time.

Some time in November 2022, the man slapped the boy so hard for crying that the mother, who was in the kitchen, could hear it. When she tried to stop the man, he kicked her in the face, threw his phone at her and told her not to interfere.

On the morning of Dec 18, 2022, the child cried as he could not sleep. Annoyed, the man repeatedly hit the boy on the forehead with his phone. When the mother tried to intervene, he slapped her, pulled her hair and kicked her in the abdomen.

He then continued hitting the boy until his head started to swell.

He refused to let the woman take her son to the hospital, until Dec 21, 2022, when the boy complained of a headache, and was drowsy and vomiting.

But he threatened to beat her up if she told the doctor what had happened, the court heard.

A CT scan found bleeding in his brain and he was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury. Fearing her then boyfriend, the mother told the doctor that the boy fell in the toilet at home, and he was hospitalised for five days.

On Jan 3, 2023, the man struck him again as he was crying because of a pain near his forehead. The man grabbed the boy by the neck with one hand and lifted him off the floor, choking him.

When his ex-girlfriend tried to stop him, he elbowed her away and continued holding the boy up by the neck till he lost consciousness.

The man blew air into the boy’s mouth and sprinkled water on his head to revive him.

DPP Yeo said: “He knew the son had just been discharged a week prior from attacks he himself had caused. He was well aware that the son had a CT scan indicating there was some degree or at least concerns over a brain injury.”

Despite that, the nature of this attack was particularly aggravating and sustained, he added.

During the boy’s follow-up appointment at the hospital on Jan 4, 2023, the mother told the doctor her son’s persistent headaches, poor appetite and frequent vomiting had worsened. He was hospitalised for six days.

The man broke up with the mother on Jan 15, 2023, and moved out of her home.

The prosecution told the court that the man was a recalcitrant offender, with convictions dating back to 2009 for offences that include aggravated outrage of modesty, voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons, and using criminal force on a public servant.

The man, who was unrepresented, said he was full of anger and stress, and was depressed at the time. He was also drinking excessively.

“My ex-girlfriend and her son are no longer part of my life, but what I did then was not me. I have stopped drinking for a few months, I have got back in contact with my parents after a few years. Everything is perfect now,” he said.

He said he was ashamed to hear how he had acted, and added that he has a son who is around the same age as the victim.

“Of course, I would not treat my biological son the same way. I’m really regretful and remorseful,” he said, adding, “I just want to take as much leniency as you can grant me.”

He then asked for his sentence to be deferred so he and his son could celebrate their birthdays in August.