The tragically short life of Trevor Neo

Gan learns she is pregnant and moves out of her parents’ home to live with Neo in a Hougang flat.

Neo and Gan marry.

Trevor is born.

After Gan is discharged from the hospital with her son, she moves in with her parents. A confinement nanny is hired to help the 21-year-old mother. Neo stays with them for about two weeks to learn how to care for Trevor.

The parents shake him vigorously.

After the confinement period, Gan, Neo and Trevor return to the Hougang flat they share with Neo’s uncles. Shortly after moving back, Gan realises she can silence Trevor or cause him to lose consciousness by shaking him vigorously. She had earlier seen Neo doing this. The shaking becomes a regular occurrence.

Trevor doesn’t respond.

Gan tries to feed Trevor milk, but he does not respond when she taps his chin.

They also discuss Trevor’s cough.

They discuss how to continue shaking Trevor without others finding out.

Neo says Trevor might become mute because of the shaking and searches Google for information on normal feeding patterns.

In the afternoon, Neo returns to the flat, and the couple decide to take Trevor to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).

Trevor is hospitalised for observation.

Medical examinations reveal no injuries, but hospital admission records state that Gan became upset when Trevor refused to sleep and shook him vigorously from side to side several times at around 7am. The family is referred to a medical social worker. Trevor is discharged under a hospital safety plan.

The couple hire a nanny.

The nanny cares for Trevor during the day on weekdays, while relatives look after him on weekends.

The abuse continues.

Neo covers Trevor’s mouth with his hands until the baby vomits milk. Trevor turns purple. Neo tells Gan about the incident and later says he no longer wants to care for Trevor because he fears he might kill him.

Neo punches Gan.

At an arcade in a Kallang mall, Neo punches Gan in the back several times for playing a game on her own without waiting for him.

Neo slaps Trevor, leaving bruises.

Neo picks Trevor up from the nanny’s home. The baby cries on the way home, prompting Neo to slap his face two to three times, leaving bruises.

Neo and Gan discuss Trevor’s bruises.

Neo messages Gan telling her to say the bruises were caused by an accident if anyone asks.

The couple later argue over dinner plans, and Neo threatens to blame Gan for Trevor’s bruises. He also threatens to hurt her.

Neo bruises Trevor’s hand.

Neo tells Gan about how he grabbed his son’s palm and fingers and squeezed them until they turned purple, leaving a bruise.

They later discuss Trevor’s injured hand again.

Trevor is suffocated daily.

Every day for two weeks, Neo covers Trevor’s nose and mouth with his hand whenever the baby cries to make him go to sleep. Gan soon does the same, but with an additional blanket over Trevor's face.

The beatings continue.

Gan beats her son on his hands, chest, thighs and buttocks, leaving bruises across his body. Neo witnesses the beatings repeatedly but does not stop her.

The nanny raises questions.

Morning

Trevor cries as Neo takes him to the nanny’s home. Neo puts his hand into the baby’s mouth and digs around to stop him from crying. Trevor’s frenulum, the tissue under his tongue, starts bleeding.

Afternoon

The nanny notices Trevor’s mouth is injured and asks Neo what happened. Neo falsely claims he does not know. She insists that Trevor be taken to a doctor.

Evening

Neo and Gan take Trevor to KKH. The child has some redness under his tongue but is otherwise well. After they leave the hospital, Neo admits that he hurt Trevor.

Gan’s mother notices bruises on Trevor.

She warns Gan not to hit him again. But Gan continues to beat him. Separately, Neo punches Gan in the head more than 10 times over a bowl of cereal.

Neo pinches Trevor for fun.

About two to three times a month, Neo pinches Trevor’s fingers forcefully 20 to 30 times. He finds it funny when his son reacts. Gan witnesses this but does not stop him.

Gan suffocates her son with a blanket.

By now, Trevor is strong enough to pull the blanket away from his face. His mother then resorts to force. When Trevor cries, she covers his face with the blanket and presses down with her hands for about a minute until he loses consciousness. Neo witnesses this but does not intervene because he does not want the inconvenience of caring for his son.

Neo punches Gan in the face.

He does this at least twice because she had left one of Trevor’s toys in Neo’s parents’ home.

Neo checks Gan’s phone.

He discovers that she has been messaging a male friend. She tells the friend that she plans to divorce Neo. Neo punches Gan in her buttocks, stomach and thigh at least 10 times and slaps her in the face.

Ahead of a doctor’s visit, Neo tells Gan to temporarily stop hitting Trevor.

Trevor stops breathing.

7pm

Gan returns home with Trevor after picking him up from her parents’ home. Neo and Gan leave their son in the care of Neo’s uncles and go out for dinner.

8pm to 9pm

Neo and Gan return, and one of the uncles places Trevor in his cot in the couple’s room. The couple are on their bed, using their phones, when Trevor cries.

9:30pm to 11:30pm

Gan goes to the cot and covers Trevor’s face with his blanket. She presses down for close to a minute as he struggles. But when she lifts her hand, Trevor starts crying again. Gan repeats this at least three or four times until her right arm begins trembling. As she does this, she asks Neo: “How? You want the baby to die? “If anything happens, we will go to jail.” Neo says: “Wait for the baby to make noise first then you try again.” Trevor falls silent for a minute. Gan leaves the blanket on his face and returns to her side of the bed while Neo continues playing games on his phone.

Trevor cries again. Gan presses down hard with both hands on the blanket covering his face. She does this until both her arms lose strength and she nearly falls into the cot. Trevor continues crying. Gan flips the baby face down and leaves him there. She then goes to sleep. Trevor falls silent. Neo is aware of what has happened but does not intervene.

11:30pm

Neo finishes his mobile game and checks on Trevor. His son is not breathing, and his hands are cold. Neo wakes Gan and tells her to check on Trevor. Gan lifts him out of the cot. The baby is unresponsive. They try to resuscitate Trevor, but he has no pulse. The couple leave for KKH with the child.

At 12.22am, Trevor is pronounced dead.

12:42am

A nurse makes a police report.

8:10am

Neo and Gan are arrested.