Man jailed for ill-treating baby daughter; smacked her on the buttocks repeatedly

SINGAPORE - A 35-year-old father was sentenced to nine months’ jail after he started abusing his daughter when she was nine months old, including slapping her buttocks repeatedly and throwing her onto a mattress.

The man, who cannot be named due to gag order to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty on Aug 18 to two counts of ill-treating a child.

The abuse occurred in a flat he shared with his then-wife, their older daughter, who was then about two years old, and the victim.

The first incident happened on July 2, 2024, when his daughter was only nine-months-old. The man was working on his computer in a room, with the victim’s cot nearby, when she woke up shortly before 8.45pm and started crying.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Vishnu Menon said: “This angered the accused who got up from his chair, shone the (torch) from his phone at the victim’s face, put her on her back, and shouted at her to be quiet.

“He then hit one of the pillows within the baby cot. This caused the victim to cry louder. The accused took...the pillow he had hit and threw it at the victim.”

The toddler’s cries intensified after the pillow struck her face.

When the child, who was wearing a nappy, continued crying, the man got up from his seat and yelled at her again. He then turned her to her side, and smacked her bottom nine times.

The second incident happened on Nov 29, 2024, when he smacked her buttocks before he picked her up and threw the toddler onto the mattress in the cot.

The child, who was then 13 months old, continued crying as she attempted to soothe the pain over her buttock area with her right hand. Both incidents were captured by a motion-activated camera in the home.

The court heard that his then-wife had tried in vain to stop him from abusing the child.

The DPP said: “(The woman) had in the past also called neighbours to the unit to soothe the accused when he became abusive towards (her and the victim).”

She eventually made a report against him in December 2024.

Lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation, who represented the man, said that the couple were divorced a year later in December 2025.

His two daughters are now under his former wife’s care, and he has had no contact with all three of them since December 2024.

The lawyers stated in court documents that their client was diagnosed with major depressive disorder after the offences, and it was a minor to moderate contributory link to him committing the offences.

Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.