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Man who killed 5-year-old daughter after months of abuse gets extra jail time in lieu of caning

SINGAPORE — A man who is physically unfit to receive 12 strokes of the cane for killing his five-year-old daughter will serve another six months' jail as a replacement for the corporal punishment instead.

The washroom where the two children were confined from October 2016 to August 2017.
The washroom where the two children were confined from October 2016 to August 2017.
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SINGAPORE — A man who is physically unfit to receive 12 strokes of the cane for killing his five-year-old daughter will serve another six months' jail as a replacement for the corporal punishment instead.

The 44-year-old man was sentenced to 34-and-a-half years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane in April for killing his daughter and abusing her and her younger brother.

He had claimed trial originally to the capital charge of murder in his daughter's death, but decided to plead guilty after a reduced charge of culpable homicide was put on the table by the prosecution.

The man, who cannot be named due to gag orders imposed by the court, had trained in silat, taekwondo and aikido. He would repeatedly punch, slap, kick and cane the children, treating them as "punching bags" for his frustration.

He also confined the children naked in the toilet for 10 months, and they would eat their own faeces because of how hungry they were.

The man was certified in May by the prison's medical officer to be permanently unfit for caning, as he suffers from a degenerative disc disease.

On Tuesday (July 9), the prosecution sought about six months' additional jail in lieu of the 12 strokes of the cane imposed for the charge of culpable homicide.

The defence, comprising Mr Mervyn Cheong and Ms Lim Yi Zheng from Advocatus Law, Mr Krishna R Sharma from Fleet Street Law and Mr Melvin Loh from Peter Low Chambers, asked for the sentence of caning to be remitted instead.

This means that no extra jail time be imposed in lieu of caning.

The lawyers cited a previous judgment, where the Chief Justice said an offender's jail term should not be enhanced in lieu of caning unless there are grounds to justify doing so.

These include the need to compensate for the deterrent effect of caning that was lost, the need to compensate for the retributive effect of caning that was lost, or the need to maintain parity or equality among co-offenders.

In particular, an offender who was exempted from caning on medical grounds was less likely to have known that he would not be caned, so it would generally not be necessary to enhance the sentences of such offenders, said the defence.

They added that the deterrent value of additional imprisonment would generally be marginal if the original jail term was already lengthy.

After hearing both sides, Justice Aedit Abdullah imposed an additional six months' jail in lieu of caning, saying he was satisfied that the sentence should be enhanced in this case.

He said there is a "clear call for retribution", not just as a punishment for the offender's wrongdoing, but also as a sign from society and the state that his acts will not be tolerated.

The heavy punishment imposed previously reflects a strong disapprobation for the cruel acts by the offender, said the judge. CNA

For more reports like this, visit cna.asia.

Related topics

child abuse culpable homicide

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