SINGAPORE – While under police investigation for ill-treating his 10-year-old stepdaughter, a man continued to physically abuse her till she had to be hospitalised.

The 33-year-old was jailed for 12 months on Friday after pleading guilty to two counts of ill-treating a child. Another similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The accused’s name and the location of the home cannot be revealed to protect the victim’s identity.

The victim, now 12, is the biological daughter of the accused’s wife. The accused and his wife have been living together since 2014.

Court documents revealed that the first incident happened on Feb 8, 2019. The man lifted the girl up and threw her on the floor twice, causing her to sustain bruises on her elbow and lower back.

Despite being investigated for the offence, he continued to use force on her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong said that on Aug 9, 2021, the accused returned home from work at about 8.30pm and asked the girl if she had eaten the spaghetti that had been cooked in the morning.

She said she did eat it, but he later found it uneaten in the microwave.

Said DPP Teong: “(The accused) then asked the victim about it and the victim kept quiet. The accused then got angry as he perceived that the victim was lying.”

He hit her back with his leg, causing her to fall down. Thinking she was just acting, he stepped on the side of her body. She then apologised to him.

At about 11.40pm, she approached him and asked for medicated oil to be applied on her. While applying the oil, he saw a bruise on her body.

The girl’s mother returned home from work at about 12.20am the next day and noticed the smell of medicated oil. After learning from her daughter that he had kicked her, the woman called the police.

Despite being investigated again, he reoffended five months later.

On Jan 29, 2022, around 6pm, he saw the girl using an iPad. She told him she had just started using it, but her elder sister told him that she had given the device to the girl that morning.

Angered that she had lied to him, he kicked her twice on the left side of her body.

“The second time he kicked her, she fell to the ground and hit her head at the eyebrow region on the edge of a speaker that was placed on the floor. The victim’s head then began to bleed,” said DPP Teong.

Seeing the deep cut, he used a towel to stop the bleeding and called for an ambulance. He claimed the girl had been cut by glass.

The victim suffered a gaping 4cm gash over her right eyebrow and a bruise on the left side of her body. She needed stitches and had to be hospitalised for 10 days.

DPP Teong said the accused had ill-treated his stepdaughter by wilfully doing an act which is likely to cause unnecessary physical injury.

For ill-treating a child, offenders can be sentenced to a maximum fine of $8,000 or to up to eight years’ jail, or both.