July 13, 2020, 07:04 PM
A Singaporean couple who were on trial for their five-year-old son's murder had been sentenced to 27 years' jail each on Monday (July 13) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous means.
According to CNA, Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman was given 27 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
Meanwhile, his wife, Azlin Arujunah, was also given 27 years' jail and an additional year in prison in lieu of caning.
Under the Singapore law, women cannot be caned.
The couple was acquitted of murder by common intention in April 2020.
Background
The boy, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was born in 2011 and had initially been fostered out to a close friend of his mother as "she was unable to care for him".
He eventually returned to his biological parents in May 2015.
A year later, he became the subject of their abuse.
His parents used various methods to abuse him, including:
- pinching him with pliers
- hitting him with a broom
- confining him to a cage meant for a cat
- splashing him with near-boiling water
- punching him in the face
He eventually died on Oct. 23, 2016.
The father
When interviewed by the prosecution's psychiatrist on Nov. 18, 2019, Ridzuan admitted that he had frequently beat his wife over minor disagreements.
He also said that he may have misdirected his anger towards her to their son instead.
In addition, it was revealed in court that Ridzuan's intellectual functions was measured to be in the lower 16th percentile.
The mother
Various details of Azlin's life were also revealed in court throughout the trial.
According to statements she had given, Azlin had experienced abuse at the hands of her parents.
Her father was a drug addict who was eventually sent to prison and her mother did not show her love.
She had also been splashed with hot water as a child.
Azlin eventually lived with her grandparents and grew very close to her grandmother, who was her primary caregiver.
But in March 2016, months prior to her son's death, her grandmother passed away.
Related stories
Top image from Facebook via Lianhe Zaobao.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.