Man jailed for slapping 6-year-old boy at Westgate mall

Unhappy with a six-year-old boy who had kicked a styrofoam wall at a mall, causing his daughter to fall, a man slapped the boy's face and bruised it.

The 39-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Oct 9. He had pleaded guilty on Aug 20 to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt.

He cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, who was around three years old at the time of the incident and is referred to as X1 in court documents.

In sentencing, District Judge Janet Wang called the assault unwarranted and unprovoked.

"Even if the accused was upset by the victim's (act)… this reaction was way in excess of proportion," said Judge Wang.

The court heard previously that the man, his wife and their three daughters had gone to an indoor playground at Westgate shopping mall in Jurong on Dec 22, 2024.

At around 2.30pm, he saw the boy kick a wall made of multicoloured styrofoam building blocks while at least one of his daughters was standing near it.

At least one of the building blocks then fell on the floor, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Joelle Loy.

The prosecutor added: "Shortly thereafter... X1... walked towards the said wall and stood there. A few seconds later, the victim ran towards the wall and kicked it while X1 was behind it. This caused X1 to fall on the floor.

"The victim had kicked the said wall despite knowing that X1 was standing behind it as he believed that X1 had destroyed the styrofoam wall that he had built earlier."

Even though about 25 other people, adults and children, were in the vicinity, the man approached the boy and forcefully slapped his right cheek once, causing a bruise, said DPP Loy.

The man asked the boy where his parents were and the child led him to his mother who was sitting nearby.

He told the woman what her son had done but did not disclose that he had slapped the boy.

The mother made her son apologise to the offender, who told her off for not keeping an eye on the boy. The man left the playground soon after.

A witness later told the woman's friend, who was also in the vicinity, that the offender had slapped the boy.

After finding out about the assault, the mother left the playground to look for the man and later saw him with his family.

"(The mother) then approached the victim to check if it was the accused who had hit him. (The boy) confirmed this while crying," said DPP Loy.

The mother alerted the police and the assailant was arrested at around 4pm that day.

The court heard that for about a week following his ordeal, the boy was observed to be noticeably quieter and he also experienced occasional nightmares. The bruise he sustained subsided several days after his assault and his behaviour has since returned to normal.

On Aug 20, DPP Loy urged the court to sentence the man to between six and seven weeks' jail.

In mitigation, the man's lawyer, Mr Nidesh Muralidharan, said his client had acted on "some sort of reason".

"It wasn't an act of aggression that had no reasoning whatsoever. It was deeply regrettable and a split-second reaction of a father who had just witnessed his child fall," said Mr Nidesh who asked for a fine instead of jail.

Handing down the sentence, Judge Wang said violence against young children should never be condoned.

She added: "Each child is precious in the eyes of (their) parents. But true charity lies in showing empathy and forgiveness towards strangers."