By Khushwant Singh
A FAMILY friend, who in November 2009 kicked and stomped on a
six-year-old till he died, was sentenced to 16 years in jail and
eight strokes of the cane by the High Court. Mohammad Johan Rashid,
32, was spared a potential death sentence on March 21, when his
murder charge was reduced to culpable homicide. He pleaded guilty
and on Monday, he escaped being imprisoned for life after his
lawyers argued that the unemployed man was truly affectionate
towards Muhammad Nor Rashidy Rahmat and had not meant him any
permanent harm. Mr Thangavelu said his client merely intended to
punish the child for talking back to him and pointed out that
investigations revealed that 'mild to moderate force' was used on
the boy. However, that was enough to fracture 10 ribs and lacerate
a lung.
Mohammad Johan and his girlfriend, Siti Roudha Amir, would often
came over to look after Rashidy and his then one-year-old brother,
who stayed in a flat in Kallang Bahru with their maternal
grandmother, Madam Asmah Asmoneh, 58, a hawker stall assistant. The
boys' parents are in jail for drug consumption.
Mohammad Johan and Siti slept over at the flat on Nov 17, 2009.
The next day, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) raided the flat
and arrested Siti. Her boyfriend, who was out with Rashidy at that
time, was wanted for evading his urine tests and was afraid that
CNB officers were waiting for him to return.
He and the boy went to put up in Siti's rented flat in Mei Ling
Street but when the child insisted on going home two days later and
started talking back, Mohammad Johan set upon the boy to teach him
a lesson.
Asking for a sentence of more than 15 years, deputy public
prosecutor David Khoo said a 'vulnerable and defenceless child' had
been attacked in a vicious, cruel manner without any justification
whatsoever.
Madam Asmah told reporters in Malay: 'He took the life of a
young boy and I do not understand why the charge was reduced in the
first place. That man should be made to pay for what he did.'