SINGAPORE: While feeding a one-year-old boy his dinner, 29-year-old Hsu Yee Mon hit the boy's face with her hand, leaving him with a bruise on his right cheek and lips.
On Tuesday (Jan 21), the Myanmar domestic worker was sentenced to a year's jail after she pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a child.
She had also pressed the boy's stomach and punched him in the chest, court documents stated.
The boy’s name and location of the offence cannot be published under a court order protecting the victim’s identity.
The court heard that on Jul 1 last year, the boy was unwell. Hence, his parents left him under Hsu's care at home while they were at work instead of taking him to the childcare centre.
Court documents did not state how long Hsu has been employed by the parents.
At 6.34pm, the boy began to cry while seated in a baby chair in the living room as Hsu fed him dinner.
Hsu then took a tissue to wipe the boy's mouth and after a while, the boy briefly stopped crying.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Darren Ang told the court that Hsu then pressed the boy's stomach with her hands, before immediately hitting the child's right cheek.
Footage captured by a closed-circuit television camera in the living room showed that as a result of the slap, the boy swung towards the left and the baby chair he was sitting on briefly tilted off the ground.
"The victim’s head narrowly missed the wall on his left, and if his head had made direct contact with the wall, it would have caused him further injuries," said DPP Ang.
After being hit, the boy began crying again. Hsu then punched him in his chest area, causing him to cry even more intensely.
As the footage was shown in court, several gasps could be heard from people sitting in the courtroom's public gallery.
The boy suffered a bruise on his right cheek and upper left lip, as well as an inner ulcer.
DPP Ang said that Hsu retrieved a container of sugar from the kitchen and applied some to the victim's lip. This was to make the injury less visible and conceal what she did.
When the boy's parents returned home at about 6.40pm, Hsu lied to them that the boy had fallen.
However, the boy's father viewed the CCTV footage and discovered Hsu had hit the victim. The next day, he made a police report.
"During investigations, the accused maintained her lie, that the victim had sustained the various injuries after falling down, to the police," said DPP Ang.
"The accused also claimed that she did not inform the victim’s parents that she had hit the victim, because she did not think that she hit him that harshly."
DPP Ang sought a sentence of 10 to 12 months, describing Hsu's actions as "highly aggravating".
"The victim was just one year old and was entirely vulnerable against Hsu Yee Mon," he told the court.
The prosecutor said that it was fortuitous that the boy did not hit his head against the corner of a wall, which was "a few centimetres away" from where he was seated.
DPP Ang added that Hsu had attempted to evade detection by lying to the boy's parents and the police in calling for the sentence.
In her mitigation, Hsu said through a translator that she was remorseful and that she could not control her anger during the incident.
She also pleaded for leniency, adding that she is a divorcee and the sole breadwinner for her two kids and her parents.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan agreed with the prosecution, describing Hsu's actions as egregious.
"(The victim) was utterly defenceless against you," said the judge, adding that Hsu's slap had caused the boy's body to swing to the left.
For ill-treating a child under her care, Hsu could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$5,890) or both.
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On Tuesday (Jan 21), the Myanmar domestic worker was sentenced to a year's jail after she pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a child.
She had also pressed the boy's stomach and punched him in the chest, court documents stated.
The boy’s name and location of the offence cannot be published under a court order protecting the victim’s identity.
WHAT HAPPENED
The court heard that on Jul 1 last year, the boy was unwell. Hence, his parents left him under Hsu's care at home while they were at work instead of taking him to the childcare centre.
Court documents did not state how long Hsu has been employed by the parents.
At 6.34pm, the boy began to cry while seated in a baby chair in the living room as Hsu fed him dinner.
Hsu then took a tissue to wipe the boy's mouth and after a while, the boy briefly stopped crying.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Darren Ang told the court that Hsu then pressed the boy's stomach with her hands, before immediately hitting the child's right cheek.
Footage captured by a closed-circuit television camera in the living room showed that as a result of the slap, the boy swung towards the left and the baby chair he was sitting on briefly tilted off the ground.
"The victim’s head narrowly missed the wall on his left, and if his head had made direct contact with the wall, it would have caused him further injuries," said DPP Ang.
After being hit, the boy began crying again. Hsu then punched him in his chest area, causing him to cry even more intensely.
As the footage was shown in court, several gasps could be heard from people sitting in the courtroom's public gallery.
The boy suffered a bruise on his right cheek and upper left lip, as well as an inner ulcer.
DPP Ang said that Hsu retrieved a container of sugar from the kitchen and applied some to the victim's lip. This was to make the injury less visible and conceal what she did.
When the boy's parents returned home at about 6.40pm, Hsu lied to them that the boy had fallen.
However, the boy's father viewed the CCTV footage and discovered Hsu had hit the victim. The next day, he made a police report.
"During investigations, the accused maintained her lie, that the victim had sustained the various injuries after falling down, to the police," said DPP Ang.
"The accused also claimed that she did not inform the victim’s parents that she had hit the victim, because she did not think that she hit him that harshly."
ACTIONS WERE "EGREGIOUS": JUDGE
DPP Ang sought a sentence of 10 to 12 months, describing Hsu's actions as "highly aggravating".
"The victim was just one year old and was entirely vulnerable against Hsu Yee Mon," he told the court.
The prosecutor said that it was fortuitous that the boy did not hit his head against the corner of a wall, which was "a few centimetres away" from where he was seated.
DPP Ang added that Hsu had attempted to evade detection by lying to the boy's parents and the police in calling for the sentence.
In her mitigation, Hsu said through a translator that she was remorseful and that she could not control her anger during the incident.
She also pleaded for leniency, adding that she is a divorcee and the sole breadwinner for her two kids and her parents.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan agreed with the prosecution, describing Hsu's actions as egregious.
"(The victim) was utterly defenceless against you," said the judge, adding that Hsu's slap had caused the boy's body to swing to the left.
For ill-treating a child under her care, Hsu could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$5,890) or both.
Continue reading...