Chin Swee Road toddler death: Mother gets discharge not amounting to acquittal on murder charge

• The prosecution had asked for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for a mother accused of murdering her two-year-old toddler
• She was granted the discharge on Tuesday but still faces 12 other criminal charges, including neglecting the girl
• The authorities may proceed with the murder charge later
• The toddler’s remains were found in a metal pot in a Chin Swee Road rental flat five years after her death
• The woman’s 33-year-old husband still faces a murder charge

SINGAPORE — The 32-year-old mother of a toddler, whose remains were found in a metal pot in a Chin Swee Road rental flat five years after the death, was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for her murder charge on Tuesday (March 2).

This means that the capital charge can be revived later, and she can still be prosecuted for the alleged offence in the future should new evidence emerge, for instance.

The prosecution had applied for the discharge “after reviewing the facts and evidence of the case”, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) previously said.

Meanwhile, the woman’s husband, aged 33, still faces the murder charge and the prosecution will be proceeding with it. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

The Singaporean couple cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identities of their other children.

The man is accused of killing their daughter, then aged two-and-a-half, at Block 52 Chin Swee Road in March 2014 but the girl’s remains were only discovered in September 2019.

Court documents said that the girl’s body was allegedly burned, before her remains were kept in a metal pot that was further encased in a sealed box placed under the flat’s kitchen stove.

Both mother and father have been in remand since June 2019 for other offences. The mother is now serving a jail sentence of five years and two months for drug and theft charges.

The case had sparked public outcry and led to several Members of Parliament asking if the girl’s death could have been picked up earlier, and whether agencies could have detected the child’s absence from educational and other records.

The girl’s parents still face a slew of other charges, some of which are similar to each other’s, including neglect and child abuse.

The mother, who now faces 12 charges in relation to the case, will return to court for a pre-trial conference next month.

MOTHER’S CHARGES

She is alleged to have committed the following:

• Between June 1, 2013 and March 2014: Ill-treated the girl by hitting her with a belt and hanger, feeding her chilli padi as punishment, slapping her face and thigh, pinching her thigh, and flicking her fingers and lips

• Between March 2013 and March 2014: Ill-treated two other children by slapping them and hitting them with a cane, hanger and belt

• March 2014: Wilfully neglected the girl by choosing not to provide her with adequate medical aid despite there being a medical emergency, such that she died

• March 2014: Perverted the course of justice with her husband by burning the girl’s body and putting the remains in a metal pot

• Dec 23, 2017: Gave false information to a liaison officer from the Ministry of Education that the girl had been taken away by her father, as they were undergoing divorce proceedings. The officer did not follow up on the girl’s Primary 1 registration exercise as a result

• Feb 8 to 9, 2018: Ill-treated four of her children by leaving them in the Chin Swee Road flat without adult supervision and without adequate food and water

• Feb 9 and 20, 2018: Gave false information to child protective service officers from the Ministry of Social and Family Development that she had six children instead of seven, so the officer would not conduct checks and follow up on care arrangements for the girl

The father also faces three other unrelated charges, including one of rioting with four others on April 5 in 2018.

He was also charged with consuming methamphetamine in June 2018. He was admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre twice before in 2011 and 2016 for abusing drugs.

His third charge was for failing to return to a community supervision centre on Feb 13 last year, after leave was granted for him to be employed at a food supplies company from November 2017 to April 2018.

The AGC previously said that the public should keep in mind the gag order imposed by the court, which restrains the publication of the name, address, photograph or any evidence likely to lead to the identification of the toddler or her parents.