Man admits to abusing baby nephew by dropping him onto mattress, pushing head under water

SINGAPORE – Fuelled by his “visceral hatred” for his wife’s younger brother, a man took his anger out on the latter’s baby by committing several acts of abuse over three months.

He also recorded the acts with his phone, and transferred the videos to his tablet. He would watch the videos whenever he was reminded of his grudge and felt angry towards his brother-in-law. Court documents did not state the reason for his anger.

The 32-year-old man, who cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order, pleaded guilty on April 20 to eight counts of ill-treatment of a child.

Court documents stated that the man and his wife lived in a five-room flat with the baby’s grandmother at the time of the offences.

Around mid-2024, the grandmother told her son-in-law to bring his baby, who was between nine and 11 months old, to her house as she missed him and wanted to play with him.

The victim’s father agreed, and began letting the baby stay over at his grandmother’s place for a few days at a time.

During such times, he was cared for by his grandmother, a domestic helper and the offender.

The man would abuse the baby whenever he was left alone with him.

“These acts included hitting, slapping, and pinching the victim on his face or body, twisting the victim’s arm, shaking the victim’s head forcefully, and strangling or suffocating the victim,” Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew told the court.

On July 18, 2024, the man offered to shower the victim. He carried the infant into the master bedroom toilet and placed him into a pail of water.

He began filling the pail with water while the infant was crying. Once the pail was filled, the man pushed the infant’s head into the water and held it down for about six seconds.

Later that day, he used the baby’s bolster to hit him in the face and body multiple times.

He also pressed the boy’s pillow onto the child’s face, holding it down for about 10 seconds, which left him crying.

On Aug 13, 2024, the man took the boy out for a walk. He carried the boy to a void deck and placed him on a metal table.

While the boy was seated on the table, the man flicked his mouth and face several times, and pinched his left cheek forcefully. He also slapped the boy on the face seven times.

He then lifted the boy up by his left leg and held him upside down in the air, before putting him back down on the metal table.

He then slapped the boy, and choked him by lifting him into the air by the neck.

A day later, the man inserted a hanger into the back of the boy’s T-shirt and lifted him up in the air. He then dropped the victim from a standing height onto a mattress on the floor.

The boy landed on the mattress face up, with the hanger behind his neck. The man grabbed the boy’s neck and choked him again.

The infant was gasping for air when the man released his grip.

On Aug 15, 2024, the man lifted the boy up and dropped him onto a bed and choked him again. He also used his left knee to press down on the boy’s left foot.

The court heard that he continued to choke the boy a few more times, leaving him dazed.

The man’s crimes were discovered on Sept 16, 2024, when he took the boy out for a walk and began physically abusing him by grabbing his hair, smacking him and twisting his right arm.

A woman passed by the void deck and noticed the man abusing the boy. She decided to make a police report and recorded a video of the abuse.

When confronted by the woman, the man released his grip on the boy’s neck and patted him on the chest. He claimed he was trying to put the boy to sleep.

He was arrested at about 6pm that day. The boy was taken to the National University Hospital for medical checks.

DPP Chew sought a sentence of between 12 and 15 years’ jail for the man, noting that this was an appalling and egregious case of child abuse, as the victim was less than a year old.

He added that substantial force was used to inflict pain and suffering on the victim.

“In particular, his actions of forcefully shaking the victim, submerging the victim’s face under water, and strangling or suffocating the victim, could result in severe injury and were highly dangerous or even potentially life-threatening,” the DPP said.

A medical report stated that the victim was at risk of both traumatic brain injury and musculoskeletal trauma.

Doctors had also said in the reports that abuse had likely contributed to the boy’s developmental delays.

In mitigation, the man’s lawyer, Mr Amarick Gill from Amarick Gill, said the man was extremely remorseful and deeply ashamed of his actions.

Mr Gill added that the man had helped to hire four domestic helpers for the victim’s family between November 2024 and December 2025, and paid for the victim’s medical expenses, which amounted to about $750.

“He did this as a sign of remorse and a realisation of his wrongdoings. Essentially, he was doing all that he could to alleviate the situation,” said Mr Gill.

For each count of child abuse, an offender can be jailed for up to eight years and fined up to $8,000.

The man will be sentenced in May.