Man gets 9 months' jail after hitting, throwing pillow at baby daughter whose crying angered him

SINGAPORE: Angered by his infant daughter's crying as he worked at home, a man shone a torchlight into the baby's face, shouted at her, then threw a pillow at her.

When the nine-month-old baby continued crying, the man turned her onto her side and slapped her buttocks nine times.

About five months later, the father, who is now aged 35, abused his daughter again after again becoming angered by her crying.

The man was sentenced to nine months' jail on Tuesday (Aug 18), after he pleaded guilty to two counts of ill-treating a child.

Seven other similar charges were taken into consideration (TIC) for sentencing. These included charges involving another daughter, who is a year older than the victim in the two proceeded charges.

One of these TIC charges involve the man leaving the older girl outside and depriving her of milk.

The father cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the victim. 

ABUSE CAPTURED ON CAMERA

Some of the abuse was captured by a motion-activated camera in the study, where the baby's cot was located.

On Jul 2, 2024, the man was working in the darkened study about 9pm when his daughter woke and began crying.

Angered by her crying, the man shone a torchlight from his mobile phone into the baby's face, put her on her back and shouted at her to be quiet.

He then struck a pillow in the cot, causing the baby to cry louder, before throwing it at her face.

When the baby continued to cry, he turned her onto her side and slapped her buttocks nine times.

He then shone the torchlight into her face again and, according to court documents, "questioned her".

On Nov 29, 2024, the offender was again working in the study when the baby, who was standing in the cot, began to cry.

At about 9.44pm, angered again by the crying, the man hit the victim's buttocks. He then picked up the victim and threw her onto the cot mattress.

The baby continued crying and used her hand to soothe the pain in her buttock.

The man's then-wife made a police report against him on Dec 30, 2024. She had previously tried on several occasions to verbally dissuade him from hitting the children.

They have since divorced.

WORK STRESS, DEPRESSION

The prosecution sought 12 months’ jail, citing the “substantial amount of force” used against the victim and her vulnerability as aggravating factors.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Vishnu Menon also said the offender had betrayed the trust placed in him as a parent.

The man's lawyers, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law, said their client had been under stress at work, where he was required to be on standby and was frequently activated at irregular hours, disrupting his sleep.

According to the lawyers, he also frequently argued with his then-wife over how their children should be disciplined.

He had left the responsibility of caring for and disciplining the children to her, but "felt compelled to step in" and handle these matters himself when she "failed to attend to these duties".

The lawyers added in court documents that their client suffered from major depressive disorder, which was assessed to be a minor to moderate contributing factor to his offences.

The man has not seen his daughters for more than 18 months.

After the couple's divorce in December 2025, the children remained in their mother's care and custody.

The lawyers sought no more than eight to nine months' jail for their client.

For ill-treating the victim, the man could have been jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$6,300), or both.