Public Prosecutor v BDB

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lee Seiu Kin J
• Judgment Date: 10 October 2016
• Neutral Citation: [2016] SGHC 221
• Plaintiff Counsel: April Phang, Marshall Lim and Soh Weiqi (Attorney-General's Chambers)
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 20 of 2016
• Date: 10 October 2016
• Hearing Date: 29 July 2016,25 July 2016,26 July 2016,28 March 2016
• Subject Matter: Voluntarily causing grievous hurt,Mitigation,Mitigating factors,Ill-treatment of child,Criminal procedure and sentencing,Sentencing,Principles
• Published date: 06 December 2017
• Defendant Counsel: Sunil Sudheesan and Diana Ngiam (Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Citation: [2016] SGHC 221
• Year: 2016

Lee Seiu Kin J:

The accused pleaded guilty on 28 March 2016 to a total of four charges. Two of these charges (ie, the first and sixth charges) were for voluntarily causing grievous hurt under s 325 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) (“Penal Code”), while the other two (ie, the third and fourth charges) were for ill-treatment of a child under s 5(1) and punishable under s 5(5)(b) of the Children and Young Persons Act (Cap 38, 2001 Rev Ed) (“CYPA”). The accused also consented for two further charges (ie, the second and fifth charges) to be taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing. These were for ill-treatment of a child under s 5(1) and punishable under s 5(5)(b) of the CYPA.

After the accused pleaded guilty, and in view of conflicting psychiatric opinions, I ordered a Newton Hearing for the purpose of ascertaining the accused’s psychiatric state at the material time. After the Newton Hearing, and after hearing the submissions of parties, I sentenced the accused on 29 July 2016 to a total term of imprisonment of eight years. The Public Prosecutor has since filed a Notice of Appeal against my decision on sentence, and I now give the grounds of my decision.

Statement of facts

The accused agreed to the following statement of facts (with the necessary redactions): A. PARTIES INVOLVED 1. The accused is one [BDB] (“the accused”), female, 33 years old (D.O.B [xxx]), Singaporean with NRIC No. [xxx]. At the time of the arrest, she was residing at [address redacted] (the “Unit”). 2. The deceased is one [B] (“the deceased”), male, Singaporean with Birth Certificate No. [xxx]. He was the accused’s biological son. At the time of his demise on 5 August 2014, he was 4 years old. 3. The witnesses are as follows: a. A1: [C], female, 7 years old. She is the accused’s daughter and elder sister of the deceased. b. A2: [D], female, 38 years old. She is the accused’s sister-in-law. c. A3: [E], female, 14 years old. She is the accused’s neighbor. d. A4: [F], male, 50 years old. He is a doctor working at [Z] Clinic and Surgery located at [address redacted]. B. FIRST INFORMATION REPORT 4. On 1 August 2014 at about 11.52pm, Bedok Police Division Headquarters received information from Kandang Kerbau Women’s and Children’s Hospital (“KKH”) pertaining to a case where a patient was reported to have fallen at home and suffered 1) acute left subdural hematoma and 2) bruises of varying age. A copy of the first information report ([xxx]) is annexed as Tab A. C. FACTS PERTAINING TO THE 1ST CHARGE CHC 900023-2014 5. Investigation revealed that on 1 August 2014 sometime after 12pm, the accused fetched the deceased home from school. At that time, only the accused and the deceased were in the Unit. 6. After lunch, the accused asked the deceased to recite the numbers 11 – 18 in English, followed by Malay. However, the deceased was not able to do so in Malay. Feeling angry and disappointed with the deceased, the accused shouted at him. Although the deceased wanted to try again, the accused did not bother with him as she was angry. The deceased then went to have a nap. 7. When the deceased woke up at around 4.30pm, the accused asked the deceased to recite the numbers in Malay again. However, he was not able to do so. This caused the accused to become agitated. She pushed the deceased on his chest area using her right hand. This caused the deceased to fall backwards and hit his head on the floor. 8. The deceased stood up and tried to recite the numbers again. However, he still recited the numbers wrongly. At this point, the accused ignored him and walked towards the kitchen. The deceased followed her attempting to recite the numbers. In her frustration and anger that he was getting it wrong, the accused turned and pushed the deceased again on his chest using her right hand. This caused the deceased to fall and hit his head on the ground. The accused then used 1) her left leg to step on the deceased’s right knee, and 2) her right leg to step on the deceased’s left knee. She repeatedly did this action for about three to four times. She then walked to the kitchen. The deceased stood up and followed her. 9. As the accused wanted to fetch A1 from school, she told the deceased to shower and get ready after she had finished bathing. While the accused was bathing, the deceased stood outside the bathroom and continued reciting the number sequence wrongly. The accused ignored him and went to her room to change after her shower. 10. While the accused was in her room, she heard the deceased slamming the cover of the toilet bowl. When she was ready, she emerged from her room only to find that the deceased had yet to change. She then asked him what he was doing in the toilet. However, the deceased did not answer her. During this time, he also continued mumbling the number sequence. The accused grew frustrated and she choked the deceased using her right hand. With her hand still on his neck, the accused pushed the deceased to the floor. When she let go of her grip, the deceased was breathing, although he was in a state of shock. 11. The accused then sat at the sofa in the living room and told the deceased that she did not want to hear him continue reciting the numbers. However, the deceased did not listen. The accused then informed the deceased that he could either stay at home or get ready to follow her to fetch A1. The deceased informed that he wanted to follow her. Hence, the accused proceeded to her room to take her handbag. By then, it was about 6.10pm. 12. Unfortunately, when the accused came out of her room, the deceased was still not ready and still continued reciting the numbers. Feeling angry, the accused used her right hand to choke the deceased by pushing her right hand against his neck until the deceased was lifted off the ground against the wall. Seeing that the deceased was gasping for air, the accused let go of her grip and the deceased fell to the floor. At this time, the deceased was not moving and responding. 13. The accused carried the deceased to the sofa to check his condition. However, the deceased was weak and unresponsive. 14. At 6.35pm, the accused decided to call A2 for assistance and to ask her to go over to the Unit. As she could not find her handphone, the accused quickly went down to the void deck of the Unit to use the public phone instead. On her way back to the Unit, the accused met A3 at the lift lobby and she asked A3 if she could help her with the deceased. A3 agreed. 15. When A3 arrived at the accused’s residence, she noticed the deceased lying face up on the sofa. She observed that although the deceased’s eyes were open, he was unresponsive. A3 tried to search for the deceased’s pulse on his wrist and managed to detect it. As A3 observed that there were bruises on the deceased’s chest, she opened the deceased’s shirt whereupon she discovered more bruises on the deceased’s chest. 16. As the deceased’s clothes were wet, A3 asked the accused what had happened. The accused told A3 that the deceased had fallen inside the toilet and hit his head on the floor. Seeing that she was unable to help the deceased, A3 advised the accused to call for an ambulance before leaving the Unit. 17. At around 6.50pm, A2 reached the Unit and she noticed that the deceased’s mouth was filled with foam. She also observed the following marks on him: a. Reddish marks on his neck; b. A reddish bump on his forehead; and c. A very big bump on the back of his head. 18. The accused and A2 quickly brought the deceased to the nearby clinic, [Z] Clinic and Surgery, where he was attended to by A4. A4 examined the deceased and observed that he was flaccid, his pupils were fixed and dilated, and his pulse was weak. A4 immediately called his staff to activate an ambulance, and the deceased was conveyed to Changi General Hospital (“CGH”). 19. At CGH, the deceased underwent emergency craniotomy and evacuation of the blood clot in view of the critical nature of his condition. A CT brain scan revealed a left side subdural haematoma with midline shift and cerebral oedema. The following bruises on the deceased’s body at varying stages of healing were also recorded: a. Left parieto-occipital haematoma x 2 (3 x 3 cm and 1 x 1 cm); b. Forehead wound healing with scab; c. Left anterior shoulder bruise; and d. Left medial malleolus bruise. 20. A copy of the medical report dated 18 August 2014 prepared by Dr [G], Medical Officer at the Department of Surgery (CGH), is annexed as Tab B 21. On 2 August 2015, the deceased was transferred to KKH on 2 August 2015 for further management. A copy of the medical report dated 17 September 2014 prepared by Dr [H], Consultant at Neurosurgical Service (KKH), is annexed as Tab C. 22. At KKH, the deceased remained in critical condition and was put on lift support. Subsequently, the deceased developed further complications, which required vasopression support. A further CT brain scan was performed and it showed severe cerebral oedema with brainstem herniation. In view of the findings and likelihood of a poor outcome and mortality, a conference was held with the deceased’s family members and they decided to take the deceased off life support. 23. The deceased passed away on 5 August 2014 at 4.10pm.

Autopsy Report

24. On 6 August 2015 at 10 am at the Health Sciences Authority (“HSA”) Mortuary, Consultant Forensic Pathologist Dr [J] conducted an autopsy on the deceased. A copy of the autopsy report with case number [xxx] is annexed as Tab D. 25. Essentially, the cause of death was certified as “head injury”, comprising the following: a. Bruising of the scalp; b. A skull fracture; and c. Left subdural haemorrhage (i.e. bleeding in the space between the skull and brain). 26. Dr [J] was of the view that the head injury was caused by blunt force trauma, which...