A couple were charged with the death of an 11-year-old girl in a Jurong flat after the police investigated an unnatural death that occured in Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. The couple were both 26 years old, and the child was the woman’s daughter from a previous marriage.
What happened to the little girl?
While details of what had happened to the 11-year-old girl have not been released, a report from The Straits Times said that she was unconscious when she arrived at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. The girl was pronounced dead on Tuesday, November 6 at 12:40 pm. Hospital authorities contacted police at 1:20 pm. The police eventually arrested the couple after conducting investigations.
The couple are in remand and would be back in court on November 19.
What did the couple say in court?
The woman also had three male children from her previous marriage, and asked the judge for time to meet with her ex-husband so they could make arrangements for the other kids. She was first married in 2013.
She asked the judge to let her meet with her ex-husband since one of the children was going to be in Primary 1 for the first time, and documentary arrangements had to be made between them. Thus, she requested for one-week bail. The judge refused.
The stepfather in the case also had a similar request with the judge, so that he could see his son via a video call. The woman was married again in April to the other accused.
The two parents attended the meeting using video call as well.
Each face one count of murder with common intention, which carries the death penalty.
Recent child murders in Singapore
Alvinology reported the case of a 5-year-old boy who was chronically abused by his parents. He ended up dying in a hospital after doctors and nurses tried to treat his horrible burns that seemed to be hours old and untreated.
The horrific state of the child, which included burns, marks from beatings, stunted growth, and other injuries that indicated long-term abuse. The child was also recorded to have been kept in a cage, and withstood several beatings with a broom and even burned with an iron.
70% of his body was burned, and a hot water pot was recovered at the parents’ flat.
“Aside from the actual injuries, the boy was also found to be severely anemic, which implied prolonged blood loss. The boy was taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital with low blood pressure and low body temperature. It did not take long for him to pass away, which alarmed hospital staff, especially the nurses.”
The couple was acquitted of murdering their 5-year-old by repeated scalding with hot water. They were instead sentenced to 27 years in prison, with the father slated for 24 strokes of the cane and the mother to spend another year in jail instead of caning.
Another case involving a 4-year-old girl involved her mother, another man, and a woman who had disposed of the girl’s body. The girl had been reported missing on July 20 and police investigated the matter.
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