SINGAPORE: A dishwasher, who tied up her two nephews
in her kitchen for two days as punishment for misbehaving, has been
sentenced to one year and one week's jail.
After two days of being tied up, the younger of the
nephews was found motionless and pronounced dead shortly
after.
The offences happened between July 1 and July 3
2011.
The court heard that the woman tied the hands of both boys, who
were seven and five years old, to a metal beam above the kitchen
sink and their legs to a PVC pipe under the sink.
The short and stout woman also caned the younger boy on his
buttocks and calf with a wooden back scratcher.
The 48-year-old woman, who cannot be named due to a court's order,
was found guilty of three counts of child abuse.
Another similar count was also taken into consideration.
In sentencing, District Judge Kessler Soh said the woman was deeply
frustrated and went overboard on her discipline, which led to
ill-treatment.
But he noted that she was "not a cruel person who derived morbid
pleasure from the pain of her nephews."
The court also heard that the boy's death was due to a natural
medical cause as he had a coronary artery disease.
District Judge Soh however said that "tying up a child for extended
periods of time could be hardly justified or excused."
Also noting the young ages of the victims and their vulnerability,
he said her offences warranted punishment.
The woman, who is a divorced mother of two, became the caretaker of
both boys, after their parents went to jail.
Earlier in mitigation, the court heard that she did not have an
easy time looking after the boys.
The woman, who is represented by Mr Subhas Anandan and Mr Sunil
Sudheesan, was said earlier to have "much difficulty managing the
victims" which led to her "desperation to resort to tying them
up."
The woman who turned up in court with blonde streaks in her hair,
remained solemn while sentenced.
She was also granted a three-day deferment in her sentence, after a
request to attend her grandchild's birthday celebration on January
5.
- CNA/xq