A MAN frustrated with his stepson's truancy from school and constant refusal to do homework went too far when he caned him about 100 times over two hours last Sept.

The cries of the 10-year-old boy alerted neighbours who called the police. The boy's stepfather, the owner of a hair salon, was arrested.

The boy suffered multiple bruises and abrasions and was warded at KK Women's & Children's Hospital for eight days where he was treated with painkillers and creams.

He was subsequently placed in Sunbeam Place, a home for abused and neglected children, in Choa Chu Kang.

On Wednesday, the boy's 38-year-old stepfather was jailed for nine months for ill-treating him.

He had pleaded guilty to a charge under the Children and Young Persons Act and could have received a maximum of four years' jail and a $4,000 fine.

Even before the hearing began, the man and the boy's mother, who works as a hairstylist, sobbed in the public gallery. The couple married in 2001 and have two other younger children, the court heard.

The man later trembled so much that District Judge Soh Tze Bian granted his lawyer's request for him to sit in the dock.

According to court documents, the boy was scolded by his mother on Sept 17 last year for lying to his teachers that he had taken a spelling test in school.

The mother then handed over two tied rattan canes to the stepfather who struck him on his buttocks, arms and back over a two-hour period.

The court heard that the boy's parents had already received numerous calls from teachers complaining about his misdemenour over the previous two years.

But Assistant Public Prosecutor Puvaneswari told the court that this was not the first time the man had ill-treated his stepson.

He had already received a warning from the police in early 2007 after the boy's teachers noticed marks on his body and made a report.

While the man's lawyer, Mr Lee Mun Hooi noted that his client went overboard with his disciplinary method, he added that it was not done out of wickedness.

He said, 'My client is remorseful and questions himself as to why he behaved that way.'

Mr Lee urged the judge not to mete out a jail sentence but to instead impose a high fine, calling this case an 'exceptional' one after various other cases of child abuse were mentioned.

In sentencing, the judge said the offence related to family violence and ordered the man to also undergo counselling sessions in prison.

The boy's wounds have since healed completely, although he now fears his parents, the court heard.