SINGAPORE, July 5 — A mother and her boyfriend who abused the former’s two-year-old son, leading to his death, were today jailed 11 and 10 years, respectively.

The boyfriend Zaini Jamari, 46, was also sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane.

Over a period of five weeks, the boy’s mother, Zaidah (sic), 41, and her boyfriend slapped, kicked and stomped on Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser.

On at least two occasions, they forced dried chilli down the toddler’s throat. 

When they could not wake the toddler on Nov 23 last year after a beating the previous day, the couple did nothing.

They left their flatmates to call for an ambulance.

The toddler was pronounced dead that day. 

On June 23, the couple were convicted of dozens of ill-treatment charges under the Children and Young Persons Act, as well as one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the toddler, resulting in his death. 

The prosecution had called for at least nine years’ jail for Zaini and an additional nine to 12 months for Zaidah.

They had also asked for nine to 12 strokes of the cane for Zaini, who was not the toddler’s biological father.

The district court previously heard that the toddler lived with the couple in a one-room flat in Telok Blangah with their one-year-old daughter, their landlord and the landlord’s niece. Investigations revealed that Zaidah had kicked and slapped the toddler almost every day over five weeks from Oct 18 to Nov 22 last year, and was often accompanied by Zaini in her assaults. 

Mohamad Daniel, who was 0.9m tall and weighed 10.8kg and was usually clad in diapers, was often made to stand with his hands on his head throughout the day as “punishment”. 

When he appeared tired or unable to stand straight, Zaidah would slap his face repeatedly. She slapped him so hard that he fell onto the ground in one instance, and bled in the mouth on another. 

A day before the toddler died, the couple was angry that he refused to eat his breakfast and started to hit him. Zaidah “forcefully stamped on (his) chest” with her right leg when the toddler was on the floor.

The toddler was later made to stand all day in the living room.

When the couple caught him resting his hand on a bedframe that evening, they slapped his face several times. He later collapsed on the floor when Zaini forced fed him spoonfuls of dried chili. 

Within an hour, the couple ordered him to stand without moving as a form of punishment. When he could not do so, Zaidah shouted and pinched him, while Zaini slapped him several times. 

When one of the slaps landed on the couple’s daughter, Zaidah kicked the toddler in his chest and stomach.

The toddler fell and hit his head. Zaini then forced dried chili down his throat, this time causing mucus to flow from his nose. 

When the boy could not be awakened the next day, the landlord and Zaidah’s niece, who witnessed the assault by the couple the night before, called for an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at around 9am that morning from a “head injury”.

For causing grievous hurt resulting in death, the couple could have been jailed up 10 years and a fined or caned. 

For child abuse, they could have been jailed up to four years and/or fined up to S$4,000 (RM11,899.664), per charge. — TODAY