Man jailed 7 months for physically abusing stepson, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Man jailed 7 months for physically abusing stepson

This article is more than 12 months old

He relentlessly abused his teenage stepson and refused to back down even after his wife intervened four times.

The man, a hostel housekeeper, kicked the then-15-year-old boy's jaw, punched his back multiple times, slapped him and even threatened to attack him with a hammer.

Yesterday, the 44-year-old was jailed for seven months after pleading guilty to criminal intimidation and ill-treating a young person.

He cannot be named so as to protect the teenager's identity.

ABANDONED TV

On June 24, the man spotted an abandoned television set at the void deck of their block and told his stepson to retrieve it.

But the teenager could not find it despite repeated searches.

The man flew into a rage when the boy returned home empty-handed and threw a bag of potato chips at his face before hurling vulgarities at him.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh said: "The accused then suddenly swung his leg at the victim's face and kicked him in the right jaw.

"The accused also wanted to punch the victim but was stopped by the victim's mother."

The man then retrieved a hammer from the kitchen, raised the tool in a threatening manner and marched towards the boy.

He said he would step on the boy's face when he was asleep.

The boy's mother ran between them and stopped him just as he was about to swing the hammer at her son.

After a brief struggle, she managed to wrest the tool away, but he was not done.

He punched the teenager's back multiple times and only stopped when his wife stepped in for a third time.

While his wife was in the bathroom, he slapped the boy's left ear once.

She intervened yet again by pushing her husband into a bedroom.

The boy seized the opportunity to run out of the flat and to a friend's home.

He lodged a police report at around 2.15am on June 25, before going to Changi General Hospital for a medical examination, where he was found to have suffered injuries including tenderness over his right jaw and a bruise on his upper back.

He was treated as an outpatient.

His mother also left the flat after the incident and sought refuge at a friend's home.

She later applied for a Personal Protection Order against her husband, which was granted in August.

She has two daughters with the man but the couple are in the middle of a divorce.

For ill-treating the boy, the man could have been jailed up to four years and fined up to $4,000.

He could also have been jailed up to two years and fined, for criminal intimidation.

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