The couple who tortured a two-year-old boy, who eventually died of his injuries, were sentenced to jail today (Jul 5). The boy’s mother Zaidah, was sentenced to 11 years in jail, and her boyfriend Zaini, was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
They both pleaded guilty last month to one count each for causing grievous hurt causing death and three counts each of child abuse. The two had another 26 and 18 charges for child abuse respectively taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard on June 23 the case of how a mother and her boyfriend abused a 2-year-old boy. The boy, Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser, eventually died from the injuries caused by the abuse.
The case would not have come to light if the housemate of the mother and her boyfriend had not called the ambulance after the couple could not rouse the boy on the morning of Nov 23 2015, after an entire day of abuse the day before. The boy was pronounced dead at 9.11am.
The boy’s mother Zaidah, 41, her boyfriend Zaini Jamari, 46, and Danial lived in a one room rental flat in Telok Blangah with two other housemates. Zaidah and Zaini pleaded guilty to one count each for causing grievous hurt causing death, and three counts each for child abuse.
Danial suffered intense abuse from both Zaidah and Zaini two weeks before his death. On the day before he died, the court heard how the mother and her boyfriend slapped the boy multiple times when he refused to eat breakfast. When he fell to the ground and did not get up, his mother stomped him on the chest, dragged him up by his arm and made him stand in a corner.
The boy stood in the corner from 10am to 7pm. When the boy got tired from standing the whole day and leaned against a bed frame, the couple slapped the boy until he slumped to the ground and closed his eyes.
Zaini that dragged him to the kitchen and force-fed him two spoonfuls of dried chilli. He was made to stand at the corner once again. When Zahidah noticed that her son could not stand at 8.45pm, she thought he was pretending and pinched his cheeks and slapped him several times. She also complained to Zaini, who also slapped the boy and kicked him in the stomach till he fell on the floor and hit his head.
Zaini did not stop at that, he force-fed the two-year-boy dried chilli once again.
The court heard how the mother and her boyfriend showed no remorse for their crime after the boy died and that the couple returned home to watch television after being questioned.
They were also more concerned about protecting themselves, lying that the toddler had a habit of pinching himself, and that he had slipped and fallen in the toilet on the day that he died.
Autopsy on the boy revealed that the boy’s body had 40 external injuries, including a fractured rib fracture and bleeding in the brain.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh in calling the “physical, mental and emotional abuse” of a “defenseless, voiceless” two-year-old child “horrific and inhumane”, asked the judge to impose at least a nine-year jail term and nine to 12 strokes of the cane for Zaini, and a stiffer jail term for Zaidah.