Ex-primary school teacher pleads guilty to repeatedly abusing stepson

SINGAPORE - A former primary school teacher physically abused her young stepson multiple times between 2016 and 2018, causing injuries such as cuts to his scalp that required stitches after she struck him with a ceramic mug.

On another occasion, the woman who resigned from teaching in 2013 punched his nose, causing it to bleed.

The court heard that the 44-year-old Singaporean made demeaning remarks, calling the boy a "prostitute's child".

She also tore up his Good Conduct Award certificate, claiming that he did not deserve it.

The woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sept 1) to three counts of ill-treating a child. Two other charges for similar offences will be considered during sentencing.

She cannot be named because of a gag order to protect the child's identity. Court documents do not state if he is still staying with his stepmother and father.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said that the victim's father had custody of the boy following a divorce with the child's biological mother.

The boy then lived with his father, stepmother and stepsister in a flat in the eastern part of Singapore.

The stepmother and the boy, who was then 11, were at home in November 2016 when she flew into a rage because he did not wash his plate after eating.

She called him over to clean up and struck the back of his head with a mug while he was washing the plate.

When the former teacher noticed that the child was bleeding, she told his father and the boy was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) the next day. He was found to have three scalp lacerations that needed stitching up.

DPP Lim said the police were not notified as the woman apologised to her stepson and promised that she would not hit him again.

But she broke her promise on May 19, 2017, when she repeatedly slapped the boy's face after he failed to recall a certain English test question.

Following this assault, he heard a ringing sound in his head and also tasted blood in his mouth.

He went to a relative's home the next day and his paternal aunt lodged a police report after seeing that her nephew was injured.

She took him to KKH and he was found with abrasions over both cheeks and a "moderate detachment" of one of his teeth.

The stepmother gave a police statement on May 22, 2017 and was aware that she was under investigation for child abuse.

The DPP said: "In the course of investigations, the victim also informed the police that he loves his stepmother and does not wish for her to be charged in court.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) intervened and the family, including the stepmother, were referred to the Kampong Kapor Family Service Centre.

They were then placed on the Safe and Strong Families programme (SSF) in October 2017.

DPP Lim added: "However, the accused and the family later disengaged prematurely from the programme. She did not cooperate with the SSF workers and remained insistent that the victim was wrong and deserved the discipline."

The stepmother did not inflict physical harm on the boy from May 2017 to June 2018.

Instead, she called him a "prostitute's child" and tore up his Good Conduct Award.

Then, on July 20, 2018, she went back to her old ways and punched the boy on the nose, causing it to bleed, after she caught him lying over some housework.

A week later, she found out that he did not attend remedial classes in school and slapped his face multiple times. She also hit his face and arms with a bag and punched his arm.

The boy's teacher later spotted his injuries and alerted the school's vice-principal.

The police and the MSF were then notified and the boy was taken to KKH on July 30 that year.

A medical report the following month stated that he had injuries including multiple bruises.

The stepmother is now out on bail of $8,000 and will be sentenced on Oct 6.

For each count of ill-treating a child, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined up to $4,000.